Bitcoin is obviously virtual, so why is it worth hundreds of thousands?

Nakamoto 2025-11-24 15:46 45792人围观 BTC

"Bitcoin is just a string of code, why is it worth so much money? ”This is the soul torture that arises in the hearts of most people when they first come into contact with cryptocurrency. After all, it is invisible, intangible, has no physical form, canno

"Bitcoin is just a string of codes, why can it be worth so much money? ”

This is the soul torture that arises in the hearts of most people when they first come into contact with cryptocurrency.

After all, it is invisible, intangible, has no physical form, cannot be forged like gold, cannot be lived in like real estate, and it is not even endorsed by any country, bank or company. But it is such a "virtual product" whose price has repeatedly exceeded recognition since its birth and has become a hotly discussed asset target around the world.

In fact, the answer is very simple: the core reason why Bitcoin is valuable is not because of "physical objects", but because it creates unprecedented "credible scarcity" in the digital world - this is the foundation of its value and the key to understanding its price logic.

1. A popular analogy: Bitcoin = gold in the digital world

To quickly get the value logic of Bitcoin, we can directly compare it with gold. The reason why gold can become a hard currency for thousands of years lies in four core characteristics. Bitcoin not only perfectly reproduces it, but also achieves upgrades:

Features Gold Bitcoin

Scarcity: The earth’s reserves are limited, but there may be new mines in unknown areas. The total amount is constant at 21 million, and the code is hard-coded to prevent additional issuance.

Durability: The physical properties are stable, but may be lost or stolen. It exists on the Internet and will never corrode or disappear.

Divisibility Difficulty and loss in division The minimum unit is 0.00000001 pieces, any division without loss

Transportability is heavy, expensive and unsafe Global instant arrival, low-cost point-to-point transfer

Consensus trust relies on physical properties and millennia of history on mathematical code and decentralized networks

To put it simply: gold is "the scarce hard currency of the physical world", while Bitcoin is the "scarce hard currency of the digital world" - it moves the core advantages of gold to the digital field and also solves the natural shortcomings of gold in transportation, segmentation and storage.

2. Five core pillars of Bitcoin’s value

If the value of gold is "endowed by nature + human consensus", then the value of Bitcoin is the triple resonance of "technical guarantee + economic model + global consensus", which is specifically supported by these five pillars:

1. Absolute scarcity: “Digital gold to fight inflation””

This is the most revolutionary design of Bitcoin. Its release rules are entirely controlled by code:

The total supply is permanently locked at 21 million coins and will not be issued indefinitely by the central bank like legal tender.；

The issuance rate is halved every 4 years, the output of new coins is getting slower and slower, and mining will eventually stop.

In the context of global central banks continuing to "print money", this "no additional issuance" deflation model has become an important tool to hedge against currency devaluation - the economic principle of "scarcity is valuable" is also applicable in the digital world.

2. Decentralization: “free assets that no one can control””

Bitcoin has no central issuing authority and does not belong to any country, company or individual. It is maintained by a peer-to-peer network composed of countless nodes around the world:

It will not be frozen, sealed or unilaterally confiscated, and even sovereign states cannot directly intervene.；

Relying on powerful cryptography technology, transaction records cannot be tampered with or forged. To attack the network, you need to master more than 51% of the computing power of the entire network. The cost is so high that it is almost impossible to achieve.

The characteristics of this "ownerless asset" make it the first choice for those who pursue wealth autonomy - your wealth is completely controlled by your own private key, without relying on intermediaries such as banks and payment institutions.

3. Practical utility: not only an investment, but also a "financial tool"”

The value of Bitcoin lies not only in its “scarcity”, but also in its practical uses:

Store of value: In countries with hyperinflation (such as Türkiye and Argentina), Bitcoin is a "life-saving straw" for locals to protect their wealth and prevent their deposits from returning to zero due to currency depreciation.；

Cross-border payment: No need to go through the banking system, huge amounts of assets can be transferred at extremely low cost and extremely fast, and are not subject to foreign exchange controls.；

Financial inclusion: It provides billions of people around the world without bank accounts with the opportunity to access the financial system and have their own "digital wallet" with just a mobile phone.

4. Network effect: the more people use it, the higher the value.

Bitcoin is the "ancestor" of cryptocurrency, with the widest popularity, the largest user group, the strongest computing power support and the most complete ecosystem:

Exchanges, wallets, payment tools and other supporting services are available around the world；

The more people believe, use, and hold Bitcoin, the higher its network value will be, forming a positive cycle of “the stronger the consensus → the more users → the higher the value”；

This consensus has even formed a "brand moat", making its status difficult to be shaken by other cryptocurrencies.

5. Supply and demand: rising demand, tight supply

With the popularity of cryptocurrency awareness, more and more individual investors and institutions (such as Tesla and Grayscale Fund) have begun to buy Bitcoin, and demand continues to grow.；

The supply side is fixed at 21 million, and mining is becoming more and more difficult, and the acquisition cost is getting higher and higher - demand growth + supply tightening, directly promote long-term price increases.

3. Summary: virtual form, real value
The essence of why Bitcoin is "valuable" is that it uses technical means to solve the "trust problem" and "scarcity problem" in the digital world:
Technically, decentralization + cryptography ensures its security, transparency, and uncontrollability；
Economically, the total supply limit of 21 million + halving model gives it the property of fighting inflation.；
At the social level, the consensus of millions of people around the world has transformed it from a "string of code" into a "digital asset".
It represents a new concept of property: your wealth belongs entirely to you and does not rely on any intermediary agency. This is an extremely precious value in the digital age.

Important reminder:

Bitcoin is still in its early development stage, and its price fluctuates greatly. Market sentiment, regulatory policies, technology iterations and other factors will cause its price to fluctuate violently. It not only contains huge investment opportunities, but also comes with extremely high risks. Investments need to be cautious and be sure to participate within the scope of one's own risk tolerance.