I think the main thing to learn from the pyrontechnics over the weekend is this:
Nobody knows what the fuck they're talking about.
And the more they talk, the more likely they are to be wrong, wrong, wrong. You know the drill... there's :
stuff we know
stuff we know we don't know
stuff we don't know we don't know
And apparently, the more someone talks, the more they don't know they don't know... the more they want attention or reassurance etc etc.
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So given that, here's something we do know: Bitcoins is not coupled to any "thing"... but if you did try to distill some "thing of value" behind it... what it is, is a network of nodes (peeps) engaged in an experiment in alternative-currency, because they're ideologically dismayed by fractional-reserve-fiat. That's the thing-of-value. Rebellion.
And most of these people got in early, with very low initial investment... so they don't have a lot to lose... and all this "talk", is an interesting (and entertaining) experimental side-effect, but not really what the whole thing is about.
I personally have a shop selling the things I make for bitcoins, I sell my programming-services for bitcoins and I've punted £250 into the market - but I see this not so much as in "investment" as a donation towards an experiment... I want to see what happens, because the social-engineering aspect of this is WAY more important than little people all excited because they might be able to get something for nothing.
But like, what do I know.
There's nothing inherently wrong with fractional reserve banking as long as it's disclosed as such and you are willing to tolerate the occasional bank run. The problem is that FRB expands the money supply, effectively robbing depositors of purchasing power while simultaneously using the State's ability to tax (steal from) that same depositor as a backstop or insurance policy (see the FDIC's implicit government backing). The real problem is legal tender laws that make alternative banking economically nonviable.
