You are describing network effects. People use Facebook because people use Facebook, as one example. Network effects are part of the reason why a company like F

You are describing network effects. People use Facebook because people use Facebook, as one example. Network effects are part of the reason why a company like Facebook is valued higher than the net of its assets minus liabilities. In accounting, the value of network effects is called goodwill. (Goodwill is only part of the reason for the higher value; another is expected future growth, both of the network effects and of however the company generates profits.) Currencies like the dollar, yen, euro, etc., have value because people think they have value. Incidentally, the same network effects apply to digital currencies, as does the expectation of future growth. But for the most part, the future growth of digital or physical currencies is based on the growth of the network effects, because currencies themselves don't generate revenue for "shareholders."