I think his point is that while it was bought with real money, it couldn't be sold for real money.

If I buy 50 RandoCoins for $1 today, tomorrow it shows that it's now valued at $2, and then the next day RandoCoin is hacked and all the coins are stolen, I didn't really lose $100, I only lost $50.

So he's wondering if the value of loss is being expressed as the money used the purchase the coins or the perceived value of the coins.