I think you've nailed it. It's not backed by a nation. It has no underlying asset like gold. Your assertions of privacy only hold if you never convert it to a t

I think you've nailed it. It's not backed by a nation. It has no underlying asset like gold. Your assertions of privacy only hold if you never convert it to a traditional currency or asset, otherwise you're on the radar. While many folks in Ukraine have been able to use crypto to buy goods recently, so has Russia to sidestep sanctions. As a result, we're seeing more incentive for nations to put the breaks on BTC and other crypto (with threat from their nuclear arsenal). China already has put substantial obstacles to crypto ownership. Then there's the lack of an FDIC equivalent for crypto, which is HUGE for the "not just the super rich" demographics. The 19th and 20th centuries had many examples of runs on the bank where life savings were wiped out. Crypto exchanges have already screwed thousands, and maintaining your own wallet and transfers is not ever going mainstream even if crypto had any intrinsic worth beyond speculation—which it doesn't. If you have the assets to gamble, that's for you to decide. I myself would rather rely on assets with underlying value that extends beyond speculation. My house is worth way more than I think it should be. Helps my credit score. But if it and all the homes in the area suddenly and magically dropped to $0, I'd still live there, because it's a home. The reason I purchased it wasn't for speculation or my credit score; it was to live in. You can't live or eat or build in BTC. When the bottom drops out, you will only get to keep the bits and the memories of a more naive era.