As it stands, it is more akin to an asset class, much like gold, than a currency. Investors tend to seek it for speculative, or store-of-value purposes, rather than to transact business. When all else fails, there will be gold and Bitcoin. This is the kind of end-of-days mentality that feeds demand. But, post the financial crisis, the near collapse of the euro, and the plague of central bank money-printing, it’s easy to see the appeal.