Bitcoin is probably increasing the inequality, because rich people and middle class can afford to invest into risky assets, while poor people can't afford to invest in anything, or are too risk averse. When I read posts that tell people to HODL and never sell their coins, I get the impression that people who make such comments don't know what true poverty is, when you have to borrow money from friends, family or neighbors just to buy food. So I would assume that Bitcoin community is dominated people who aren't considered poor. So when Bitcoin skyrockets, it's an example of "the rich get richer".
I've had the same thought myself. I wonder, what does Michael Saylor (or anyone else) expect to accomplish by hording bitcoin? Without actual usage it could very well become useless as people get bored with the routine of holding it for no particular purpose. I bring up Michael Saylor because, 1. he's uber rich and 2. many people consider him to be super smart. I won't say he's stupid, but when he says things like "bitcoin will be around for thousands of years" I can't help but question the thought process of a person who compares something based on an invention that is not yet 100 years old (computers) to something that has actually been around for thousands of years (gold). But then it occurs to me, in spite of my belief that bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme, that doesn't keep others, like Saylor, from using it as such. It seems to me that is he, or any other bitcoin enthusiasts with means, truly believe in it as a currency they would be investing in or creating a viable bitcoin eco-system. With the gift of El Salvador's decision to make bitcoin a legal currency you would think these rich folks would create contracts with say, coffee farmers, to buy their coffee at a specified bitcoin value that is not (entirely) based on the US Dollar, and have said producer pay workers in bitcoin, and to also contract with vendors in the area to accept said bitcoin from the local workers, all at contracted and predictable rates. Possibly create a colored coin and use bitcoin as the backing. This is what would give bitcoin a value of it's own, and make it so much more than a mere instrument of speculation that so far has really only served as a transporter of the value of other currencies.
It so happens that several weeks ago, when I first explored this line of thinking (legal currency in El Salvador + a product everyone loves that is already created in El Salvador = bitcoin coffee ecosystem) I actually come upon a website that did such a thing. The website was not very sophisticated but I called the number on it and left a message. It turns out the website was not even supposed to be live! HA! Well, I ended up buying a few pounds of their coffee to support what they have going on. I really don't know much about their operation, but it sure seems like they could use a little more financial backing for their efforts, or maybe I'm superimposing my above fantasy on their operation.
I would really like to see bitcoin be the censorship resistant, decentralized powerhouse of a world currency many of us wish it was, but along the lines of what hatshepsut93 pointed out, there is just too much greed behind this game.
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