You seem to be slowly turning to the side of it being an investment in the end.

You start out with lambasting bitcoin and crypto as nothing but a ponzi scheme, yet by the end of this paragraph you admit that

>If it develops that foundation then it will be like investing in a fledgeling industry, nurturing it until it can become self-sustaining and profitable. If those applications don't come through, it's just another scheme.

Which is exactly what it is!

I think lots of crypto debates should more accurately define their context.

Are we debating if the current price of bitcoin represents its intrinsic value?

Are we debating if bitcoin even has any value?