Phantasmagoria

I don't know what the Bitcoin mining process is specifically, nor do I care. Let's imagine that it is calculating the next hundred digits of pi. But I do know that, to receive a new Bitcoin, it takes specialized Chinese-made computer chips and megawatts of electricity to solve this mathematical puzzle. But to what end? Does getting the next hundred pi digits really add any societal value for all the energy and dollars expended? It's as though one spent huge resources digging in a gold mine for a picture of gold. Yes, phantasmagorical value is created by the issuance of the next Bitcoin ... but in exchange for what? Countries which issue money, back it with their "good faith and credit." What is the value of this phrase from a boiler-room Bitcoin issuer?

Your instincts are right. Cryptocurrencies will be but a quizzical chapter in the future's"History of Money."