agreed. but so is any risk asset. Tulips as well...

> and a durable store of value.

Compared to USD its quite volatile. So in terms of inflation hedge + durable store of value I would much rather be in gold where daily or weekly fluctuations can be stomached.

> short term speculative

I think Taleb is saying bitcoin is a bubble like tulips were. The tulip mania lasted a few months or so. The fact that the bitcoin "bubble" has lasted longer does not in itself mean it is not a bubble. Only time will tell.

> Bitcoin has a value proposition outside of day trading speculators

I would argue that the vast majority of the reason for bitcoin's existence today is speculation and trading. We are 10+ years in and we still don't have a viable decentralized infrastructure based on crypo. In fact, the entire value of cryptocurrency is derived from centralized finance. Companies like Coinbase make a big splash about all this - but their market cap is derived from listing on the NYSE and their very business model is predicated on storing keys for everyone and being a central place for trading.

Explain to me how Bitcoin is any different than the meme stocks of today? (Gamestop, AMC and many more...). Bitcoin is the symptom of simply too much money on the sidelines. It is the monetary equivalent of the social amplification you get from making a tweet that suddenly goes viral.

In defense of crypto, I will say one thing: the creativity in the space is amazing. The pace of innovation, ideas and new concepts is heartening to see. What I expect from all this, however, is maybe 95% of it will disappear and we will remain with 5% of the innovation in the crypto space. I don't know what that 5% looks like - but it will probably be focused on the tech that disrupts existing payment structures and marketplaces - and less so about store of value.