Also, people could enjoy holding coins, wouldn't rule that out. Arguably, being part of the crypto community does seem to bring some people joy.
On the flip side, are millions of people who pay money to simply view art every day in cities around the world. That seems like pretty strong evidence that people get "enjoyment" from it.
> Arguably, being part of the crypto community does seem to bring some people joy.
I'd guess it's the part about the rapidly rising prices that gives them joy.
Whether is it rising prices or community that gives people joy in crypto I have no data on - are there any infomative studies around?
I'm not sure about there being "joy" in crypto currencies. This article [1] argues the exact opposite, but isn't a study of any kind. I'd be interested to see the average rates of depression among crypto owners. Gangs give people a sense of community (maybe we call that "joy"), but they aren't good for people's health long-term.
[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/akvn8z/crypto-bad-for-mental...
A private key doesn't do any of the things that great (and no-so-great) art can do for us.
It seems no co-incidence that crypto people running their Ponzi scheme tried to hijack the art market.
However art pieces themselves have an "open, efficient, equilibrium" market price, in that, people actually want to own art to enjoy it. If the art market were broken up, and all the tax incentives ended, and all buyers forced to use public pricing -- then we'd see prices plummet... but not all the way, some pieces would still fetch millions.
I think crypto is a pure scam, more radical than art and more radical than MLM cosmetics -- you're not holding anything of value absent fools. There are no people who "want to enjoy their coins", there are only fools. Ie., people who want to pass-the-items-on after rent-seeking (ie., holding it until the fools pile up).