How can bitcoin become money if it is too valuable to spend?

How can bitcoin become money if it is too valuable to spend?

After a volatile week, a bitcoin was still worth about $40,000 on Friday. That is still quite valuable, something bitcoin enthusiasts have been eager to point out.

There is nothing in the code that governs the cryptocurrency, however, that provides an answer to the question: How can bitcoin become money if it becomes so valuable that you don’t want to spend it?

It is certainly true that even with this week’s drop, over the long run the value of a bitcoin has appreciated. In 2008, it was nothing more than a PDF that contained an idea. The PDF traded at a spot price of zero, considerably lower than current levels. That’s an impressive 13-year performance for any asset. It is an Amazon or Apple level shoulda-got-in-on-the-ground-floor performance. I first had bitcoin explained to me by a group of Swedish hackers in an attic in Malmö in 2011 and let me tell you: I have regrets. 

Bitcoin isn’t supposed to be just some asset, though. It’s supposed to be a global money. Depending on whom you ask, it will either become the standard medium of exchange for all transactions, or a final medium of settlement for other kinds of money, a bit like the