Bitcoin – the ultimate existential mystery

The very definition of the term virtual is “not physically existing as such, but made by software to appear to be so”. This could be why virtual currency as a whole has people scratching their heads trying to figure out of it is indeed real or not.

We all knowthat the popularity of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, seem to be increasing exponentially, along with the price thereof. However, unlike stocks or bonds, or even fiat currency, it’s not tangible. How valuable can it really be then?

Not very apparently, according to multi-billionaire investor, Warren Buffett.

“You can’t value Bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset...it's a real bubble in that sort of thing,” he recently stated.

Reading between the lines of the simple statement is easy. Because Bitcoin, and basically all cryptocurrencies, doesn’t have any value, you can’t invest in it. What about the fact that its trading at over $7,000?That’s just it. Bitcoin holders aren’t really investing in it, they’re just hoping that the price of it continues to increase.

However, in our rapidly digitizing world, there is definitely a place for cryptocurrencies. The goal is to live a transparent and democratic society, where our hard-earned money isn’t at the mercy of one central entity such as the government. Crypto offers this, but we all need to be on the same page as to whether or not virtual currency can completely replace its fiat counterpart.

On that, most people don’t know how cryptocurrencies get made or how much there are. Is there a finite amount of it, like other commodities? Buffett also touched on this conundrum.

“It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any...United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode.”

After that somewhat negative stance on the subject, strong>billionaire entrepreneur and PayPal cofounder, Peter Thiel, does have some positive things to day about Bitcoin.

“ I'm skeptical of most of them (cryptocurrencies), I do think people are a little bit … underestimating bitcoin especially because ... it's like a reserve form of money, it's like gold, and it's just a store of value,” Thiel said.

However, it’s not gold. Gold is tangible and finite. There’s just a certain amount of it in the world. The same cannot be said for Bitcoin. Once we have a solid and tested definition and method on how to put physical value on a virtual currency, we’ll just have to continue this debate indefinitely.