Agreed, mostly. Bitcoin is still in a proof-of-concept state, and as a concept, it has its significant flaws (transaction rate and proof of work's carbon footpr

Agreed, mostly. Bitcoin is still in a proof-of-concept state, and as a concept, it has its significant flaws (transaction rate and proof of work's carbon footprint). The concept isn't near being proven yet and that hasn't stopped all the other crypto coins coming into being, the vast majority are pure scam/money printing scams. There is no crypto market; just Bitcoin and blockchain bullshitters. Over time, Bitcoin is slowly building up a base of people who are buying in and not selling (hence the long-term slow gradual price rise). There's a danger that as the more liquid coins dry up, whales can manipulate the price by selling but market forces (via slowly steadily buying in) should, bit by bit, eat those attempts up. If Bitcoin's proof of work model doesn't work and Bitcoin eventually fails, nothing exists at the moment that would replace that failure. A proof of work model and fully (and entirely) decentralised replacement might not be possible.