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The intrinsic value of gold is its usefulness in electronics and jewelry. The same for silver and other natural resources: the cost to dig them out of the groun
by dsr_ 5y ago
The intrinsic value of gold is its usefulness in electronics and jewelry. The same for silver and other natural resources: the cost to dig them out of the ground or grow them, process them and bring them to where you want them to be is exceeded by their economic usefulness.
The intrinsic value of a bitcoin is zero, and the cost of production is about 1.7 megawatt-hours.
- fuzzybear3965 5y agoApparently the fair value of gold when considering the manufacturing value is less than a hundred dollars an ounce. Other demand (store of value) drives the price up.
- jrm4 5y agoNot electronics, historically, obviously. But this is important. Gold became "gold" not because it was "useful" -- but almost precisely because it "wasn't." It was shiny, pretty, and scarce, and also NOT GOOD for tools. Its rise as a symbolic store of value is likely directly attributable to its lack of intrinsic value.
- dsr_ 5y agoIron pyrite is also shiny and pretty, and if it's not as rare as gold, it's still very pretty. But nobody used iron pyrite for jewelry, much, because it's neither malleable nor ductile -- properties which make gold useful for wire and leaf, and later turn out to be important for electronics, too.