The scam actually ended in December 2013, when the original scammers unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of their worthless hyped hashes for $1100 each. Everything has been gravy since then - they made over $100 million in the last year as well. The bitcoin is worth under $260, and headed to zero.
Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have been around long enough to know a fraud when they see one, and Munger correctly termed Bitcoins "rat poison". It's not a digital currency - it's a Ponzi scheme that will kill any chance of an actual digital currency from being developed in the subsequent years after its inevitable demise. I was saying so here when it was worth over $460. If the bagholders had listened instead of downvoted, they would have saved a lot of money. You still have time to get out before it plunges to zero. The idea these worthless hashes can retain a $3 billion market cap is risible.
I know why a commodity like gold has value, or why oil has value. Gold has been used as a currency, or to back currencies for thousands of years. Gold backed the US dollar until 1971. In fact, the 10,000 tons of gold the US still holds in Fort Knox and elsewhere still backs the dollar, albeit indirectly (for what other reason are they paying the expenses to store it?)
Why does Bitcoin have value? It doesn't, nor did Pets.com, subprime real estate, Dutch tulip bulbs, or other bubbles supported by hype.
HN has new rules against gratuituous negativity. I warned some people here from this scam over a year ago when it was over $460 (now <$260). I don't know if people can be warned off hype here in the future, but if so, you can always listen to old hands who have seen it all before like Munger and Buffett, who see this "rat poison" for what it is - valueless hashes, destined to be priced at their true worth - $0. Of course, as Keynes said, markets can remain irrational longer than I can remain solvent.