Most of the increase in transactions you see now are from HFTs speculating, who generate demand on any high-risk instruments if they think it has a return somew

Most of the increase in transactions you see now are from HFTs speculating, who generate demand on any high-risk instruments if they think it has a return somewhere. Demand for Bitcoin as an asset isn't that different from any other commodity, but demand for Bitcoin as a currency is not there as many competitive substitutes exist. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-16/high-speed-traders-are-taking-over-bitcoin-as-easy-money-beckons https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-16/high-spee...