Bitcoin isn't growing in value because it represents shares of a business that makes real money: it's growing in value because demand is increasing. You can directly connect AAPL's profitability with the value of the phones and computers they produce. Bitcoin does not have such an analogue. The "asset" behind Bitcoin is one part the group of miners who consider to keep the ledger going, one part the ability to facilitate a trade using that shared ledger, and three parts speculation. It's the speculative component that makes it, and all other cryptocurrency, more gambling than investment.
> Bitcoin isn't growing in value because it represents shares of a business that makes real money.
With bitcoin, you’re investing in whomever the individual is on the other side of your trade. I hope some of these techies become rich enough to take government positions.
Why do the assets behind a company matter? In the event they go bankrupt and have a liquidation event, first their assets will go to loan-providers, then to bond-holders, then to private preferred stock holders, then finally if there are crumbs remaining, to public common stock holders.
>Bitcoin isn't growing in value because it represents shares of a business that makes real money
Neither is Tesla making real money. Or Amazon.
Yet their stock prices continue to grow from speculation about how valuable they might be one day in the future.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's the same with crypto.
For sure those two companies are "safer" bets than most (or perhaps all) cryptos... but the underlying principle is exactly the same. It's just degree of risk involved.
