Yeah, what the chairman said about monopolyis indeed not quite it. A monopoly in creating something isn't even enough to guarantee (or even make it more likely

Yeah, what the chairman said about monopolyis indeed not quite it. A monopoly in creating something isn't even enough to guarantee (or even make it more likely) something will have enduring value. bitcoins indeed have capped production, which kind of serves like a monopoly on producing it (or perhaps even better, it's supply is completely predictable). But as long as the only reason it's trading so high is because everyone is hoping to sell it to someone who will buy it even higher -- that's not why people acquire dollars, and I can see the ponzi scheme analogy. Ultimately, I'd say the reason the dollar has value is because the US Government charges taxes denominated in dollars, and accepts only dollars in payment of them.