I appreciate the reporters critique, but what I believe they're missing is that there's an inherent value in the network and its market share in the space.

Bitcoin is not the check, it's the store of value and the bank. Bitcoin is the investors, developers, the miners, the ledger, wallets(accounts), the speculators, the store of value. Bitcoin is the headline maker in the WSJ, NYT, etc. That multilayered coupling is what makes BTC valuable.

The reporter talks about intrinsic value of companies, cash flow etc. The underlying healthy and stable economy is not some axiomatic truth. With BTC, You have all of the components to have currency emerge into existence and stay from bitcoins incentive system.

How much is it worth? That depends on what the alternatives are worth, and that evaluation changes every day. I hope it's long term near worthless, but you can never be too sure.