"The crypto problems solved in Bitcoin don't have the intrinsic utility of a precious metal."
So gold was used extensively 2000-3000 years ago. Exactly what was its intrinsic utility then? Plating astronaut helmets and high-conductivity, corrosion-resistant electronics?
The intrinsic utility of gold was that it was eminently verifable. It's got a characteristic ductility and it was a yellow metal. You could easily verify if it was 100%, 80% etc. In other words, to the ancients, the intrinsic utility of gold was "its trust model". Sound familiar?
So gold was used extensively 2000-3000 years ago. Exactly what was its intrinsic utility then? Plating astronaut helmets and high-conductivity, corrosion-resistant electronics?
The intrinsic utility of gold was that it was eminently verifable. It's got a characteristic ductility and it was a yellow metal. You could easily verify if it was 100%, 80% etc. In other words, to the ancients, the intrinsic utility of gold was "its trust model". Sound familiar?