Do you know how difficult it is to get millions of people to agree that something is a store of value, not only agree, but to put their money where their mouth is? THIS is why bitcoin is where it's at.
If you are asking why stable coins pegged to the dollar don't exist, well they already exist.
What usefulness does a $100 million painting have?
I don't think $100 million paintings are a good store of value or medium of exchange either. But again: at least many of them are nice to look at.
1) There is no central authority that can print more
2) It is deflationary. There is a limited supply.
3) Everyone has agreed on the protocol, and everyone can be confident that their bitcoins are their own and they can trade them however they want. This is important.
4) There is no inherent value. This is the part that trips many people up. An items inherent value simply gives it a natural price minimum. For example, golds 'inherent value' is that it is an excellent conductor, and theoretically if the price gets too low then people will use it for just that, which will keep the price stable at that market value. Bitcoin doesn't have this - however this also keeps it from having no price maximum either. People want it because they want it. What is 1 BTC worth? There is nothing to tie the price to. It's worth what people will pay for it.
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.
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?
Networks of people are what allows for ideas to get popular...
So basically fiat money, then.
Because I've lost count for bitcoin : it's about to have it's, what 5th or 6th, bubble-popping ? (Coming back stronger each time.)