General Discussion

...you dig a hole in the ground to extract a worthless mineral and then dig another hole to put this worthless mineral in and guard it.

Money is a medium of exchange. The value of the dollar is based on how confident you are for the USA to still be here tomorrow. Of course, that gets manipulated a bit, but if I could buy Rubles right now, believe me, I would, those damn things are on a fire sale right now. If the US government collapsed, our dollars would be worthless. You can go out and buy Confederate States of America dollars or Rubles of Imperial Russia, outside of collectors value, they are all worthless because those governments don't exist any more.

Bitcoin is a perceived value of a medium of exchange. A value that is derived as a safe haven because its not beholden to the stability of a nation. Plus its easy to hide, launder, avoid taxes, etc. You walk into an airport with a suitcase of cash, a lot of questions are going to be asked. Not to mention, it may be confiscated for awhile when the investigations go through. Have a million in Bitcoin in the USA, can be redeemed in virtually every nation without physically carrying any hard currency.

That's its appeal. But it can crash for whatever reason.

As for myself, I prefer very small gems. Easy to hide in your clothes, metal dectors don't go off, passing one off as payment doesn't attract too much attention, etc.