The fallacy of Bitcoin not having any intrinsic value

This is a common argument made by nocoiners. Bitcoin is intrinsically worthless therefore it's value should be zero and therefore it will go to zero.

But does that even make sense and what does that even mean?

First thing is that intrinsic value has different meanings it's more like a philosophical concept not something where we can even clearly define what we are talking about.

In all definitions used intrinsic value is also something that has a subjective element and is based on personal perceptions and judgement.

Let's look at some of the definitions used:

the first is the philosophical definition

If something has intrinsic value or intrinsic interest, it is valuable or interesting because of its basic nature or character, and not because of its connection with other things.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/intrinsic-value

the second is the definition used in a financial context

the real value of a company, asset, etc., which may not be the price it could be sold for now:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/intrinsic-value

What Is Intrinsic Value? Intrinsic value is a measure of what an asset is worth. This measure is arrived at by means of an objective calculation or complex financial model. Intrinsic value is different from the current market price of an asset.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/intrinsicvalue.asp#:~:text=Investopedia%20%2F%20Theresa%20Chiechi-,What%20Is%20Intrinsic%20Value%3F,market%20price%20of%20an%20asset

I would argue that we stick to the definition in a financial context.

As we can see even in finance we find different definitions.

Intrinsic values are most commonly used in the context of stock investing. The intrinsic value of a stock is either the value of future cash flows or the value of the assets of the company or a combination of both.

Even with stocks it's rare that people agree on what the intrinsic value is since future earnings are difficult to estimate and the value of assets is often hard to determine. Some stocks don't have earnings or assets but they trade based on hopes that they may generate earnings in the future (biotech or pharma stocks)

Thus estimating an intrinsic value is often about guessing what something is worth.

Does everything in finance have an intrinsic value? No in fact many in finance argue that gold doesn't have an intrinsic value since it trades at a large premium to it's industrial demand which is only 10% of the market. Some argue that gold has value for psychological reasons because it's shiny.

Some people argue that gold has no intrinsic value, that it is a barbaric relic which no longer holds the monetary qualities of the past

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/071114/why-gold-has-always-had-value.asp

Fiat currency is intrinsically worthless. Since Bitcoin is closest to money and gold and was never intended to be something else it's misleading or dishonest to talk about the intrinsic value of Bitcoin since neither gold nor money is traded based on it's intrinsic value.

Bitcoin could be the only remaining currency in the world and it's intrinsic value would still be zero.

So claiming that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value does not give us any information at all and it means little in the context that we are dealing with.

So why do people talk about intrinsic values?

I think in some cases it's people from traditional finance who know only how to value stocks and use a valuation model for stocks for something they don't understand. Using an inappropriate model tells them the value is zero. In that case it's a lack of critical thinking and unwillingness to learn something new.

In other cases it's more like a personal belief that Bitcoin is worthless. Of course those people don't live in countries with weak currencies and unstable financial systems. Just calling Bitcoin worthless sounds like an opinion not an argument so they throw in fancy financial terminology to make themselves sound more authoritative and convincing. It means Bitcoin is worthless and I understand that because I am financially literate (and you are not)