Thank you for the replies and the link. I'm looking forward to reading your research.

It'll be interesting to see where the Bitcoin experiment lands. In terms of "value", Jason P. Lowery has made the only coherent argument I've heard for the network.

He likens it to the next evolution in warfare. I read his Master's thesis and leaving aside some monumental assumptions about evolutionary processes, I think he makes a rational case for hash power as a digital proxy for kinetic force.

That said, Achim Warner did a fair job of crapping on much of Lowery's case. Ultimately, I think there is an enormous potential in the speculative value of Bitcoin, especially as the global sovereigns continue to do their level best to destroy purchasing power.

Once Blackrock and Fidelity start selling securitised digital Beanie Babies en masse to state pension funds is going to make for a pretty interesting show.