I personally think BTC is useful, especially in times like these, mainly because it has no intrinsic value. People are scared of inflation. Interest rates are low. The market is extremely overvalued, trading at massive P/E ratios. Nobody really wants to be holding cash, stocks or bonds. So what do people do with their money when there is no alternative?
Disclaimer: I own $1500 or so in BTC.
> People are buying into bitcoin now because they see a graph going up and want it to keep going up. It could just as well be shares in a video game retailer.
You're absolutely right. People are only going to buy BTC if they think the price will go up, or remain stable, or whatever their goals are with their money. I don't think our opinions are at odds here.
And yes, "overthrowing the system" was indeed heavily discussed all the previous times, here's one example : https://m.slashdot.org/story/144938 Also remember how the creation of bitcoin was spurred by the 2008 financial crisis?
Aren't they doing that because they see helicopter money flying? Haven't you noticed that S&P500 and gold are also high?
People are buying into bitcoin now because they see a graph going up and want it to keep going up. It could just as well be shares in a video game retailer.