The intrinsic value is the bitcoin protocol which provides a framework where transactions become effectively irreversible in about an hour, you don't have to go through a middle-man to pay someone, and it provides anonymity if you need it.
Not sure you can consider that an intrinsic value. I could be wrong, but my understanding of intrinsic value is essentially that it is the value of an item when the market value is zero. The bitcoin protocol does you no good if the market value of a bitcoin is zero.
> my understanding of intrinsic value is essentially that it is the value of an item when the market value is zero
That seems like a fairly artificial mental exercise. Why would market value be zero if intrinsic value is greater than zero? I suppose the only situations would be if a good has a unique property that can provide utility to you but no one else, like a food that for some reason only provides nutrients for you, or any good in a truly post-scarcity society or region, or if the market is extremely uninformed or irrational.
I think the real problem is with the metaphysical implications inherent in the word "intrinsic." You can always go "one level higher" and say that the value at the previous level was not intrinsic or "as intrinsic." Does an apple have intrinsic value if there are no humans alive anymore, and if not, is the value really "intrinsic" in the apple?
As far as I can tell, the specific term used in finance is based on predictions of the future value that can be derived from the good, regardless of its current market price. Of course, I would suspect that most market participants already make predictions about the future and that those predictions affect the price they are willing to buy or sell a good at. Granted, some people will be able to predict the future more accurately than other people, but does that mean we can only tell what the intrinsic value of something was in hindsight?
I think the real problem is with the metaphysical implications inherent in the word "intrinsic."
There it is, folks. We aren't talking about a simple concept, we are talking about the metaphysical and the deeper implications of words. What is a "word", anyway? Let's take a moment to consider.
