Bitcoin does not maintain the higher value due to "more gamblers", it only has value due to "more holders". Gamblers can come and go and affect only the volatil

Bitcoin does not maintain the higher value due to "more gamblers", it only has value due to "more holders". Gamblers can come and go and affect only the volatility. But people who stay and hold for years and sell only a small fraction to pay the bills. Sidenote: that last statement is often confused with "rent seeking", which is not the case at all with Bitcoin. Because it's virtually impossible to make more Bitcoin with your Bitcoin. There's no any sort of business that can give you a better return at the lower risk. So you don't live on the "rent", instead you live off "wasting your savings", although if you were patient enough for them to appreciate a lot and you spend <10% a year, you have a decent chance to keep the total value growing and not shrinking as time goes by. But you need to be frugal.