What was the USD exchange rate when you became involved with Bitcoin?
$0.01?
$0.10?
$1.00?
$30.00?
$3.00?
$5.00?
What would you consider a reasonable price? Do you long for the 'good old days' of being able to get a thousand bitcoins for a few dollars? How many people are even aware of the system's history enough to realize that the rate used to be much lower than $2? How many will never know that?
For many of us, the genesis block in 2009 is a distant memory that isn't even our own. It is external, the same as the birth of our parents. We were not there for it: it just was, because if not, our parents would not exist - and by extension, neither would we. The principle of monetary value is very similar to this.
From
Mises'
The Theory of Money and Credit:
... a historically continuous component is contained in the objective exchange value of money.
The past value of money is taken over by the present and transformed by it; the present value of money passes on into the future and is transformed in its turn. In this there is a contrast between the determination of the exchange value of money and that of the exchange value of other economic goods.
The debate over whether Bitcoin is or is not money, a commodity, or the possibility of its origins no longer matters; it hasn't mattered for some time. Bitcoin is very simply functioning on a basis of its own existence. Those new to Bitcoin today will understand it to have a value of about USD$6.50 or whatever their local currency is exchanged for, and with no other historical basis to form their opinion, that will be the fair value they are accustomed to.
Without deeper exploration into the ideas behind cryptocurrencies, what remains is a use paradigm. It spreads like an Internet meme, the more unique and appealing, the wider the and more deeply-rooted it will be in the social mindset. Many know of trollface, and it applies in a wide range of situations. There's a solid anchor to a particular behavior which most people are familiar with. Likewise, Bitcoin works in a familiar way, but has certain distinct elements which differentiate it enough to make an impact.
At least one entire generation has now grown up with email because it simply existed. Awareness and usage were simply ingrained. The same goes for driving a car, playing sports, watching television... and banking. If a person newly discovers Bitcoin and finds that either $1 or 0.1BTC both buy a bottle of water, then a Bitcoin develops as being worth $10 from that person's perspective - because Bitcoin just is.
Any continued adoption of Bitcoin will build a new basing platform at each stage. What was your entry point? I'm still wishing I paid more attention when I read some here and there so long ago, well under $1...
