The bitcoin was intended to solve a very real problem of transferring assets illegally that is, smuggling out or transferring money in a way that the authorities cannot know. I faced this problem several times in my life (I am a twice-refugee).
I remember that while in Stalinist Hungary, our relatives in Argentina wanted to send help to us. Dollars were out of question, as its possession was a crime in Hungary. So they sent used cloth with something sewn in the seams. Another way was to send Gillette blades in letters. The blades were unavailable in Hungary and could be traded for food. Philately was another way: rare stamps could be traded in Hungary and viceversa, one who had to send out money from Hungary, could buy rare stamps and send it hidden in a letter (under aluminum paper or something like that). Art was also used, small paper drawings by famous artists could be hidden in ordinary letters and packets. And historic documents.
The ancestors of the bitcoin had intrinsic worth, they were useful in themselves or were valued collection items. The bitcoin has no use nor collection value, it is a naked resource transfer medium. It exists because the internet is free and the states cannot monitor the traffic. Taxes and death are certain, so its current tax free condition cannot endure. When the states figure out how to tax it, the crypto will deflate like a punctured balloon. See pic.
I remember that while in Stalinist Hungary, our relatives in Argentina wanted to send help to us. Dollars were out of question, as its possession was a crime in Hungary. So they sent used cloth with something sewn in the seams. Another way was to send Gillette blades in letters. The blades were unavailable in Hungary and could be traded for food. Philately was another way: rare stamps could be traded in Hungary and viceversa, one who had to send out money from Hungary, could buy rare stamps and send it hidden in a letter (under aluminum paper or something like that). Art was also used, small paper drawings by famous artists could be hidden in ordinary letters and packets. And historic documents.
The ancestors of the bitcoin had intrinsic worth, they were useful in themselves or were valued collection items. The bitcoin has no use nor collection value, it is a naked resource transfer medium. It exists because the internet is free and the states cannot monitor the traffic. Taxes and death are certain, so its current tax free condition cannot endure. When the states figure out how to tax it, the crypto will deflate like a punctured balloon. See pic.