[bisq-network/bisq-website] Add manuel's post on source of bitcoin's value (#183)

[John Forsyth]

Mycelial1 commented on this pull request.



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+In my view, the above narrative is scientifically inconsistent and as such, it could be easily utilized against Bitcoin by academia and governments to spread negative propaganda like  accusing Bitcoin of being a reckless speculative bubble and that there is no scientific support of its value other than "It's valuable because people value it". It's not that I fear too much that they can stop anything - I believe Bitcoin will thrive or not regardless of what haters and supporters claim - though, they might be able to slow down the adoption process a bit.
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+The narrative is scientifically inconsistent because it deviates from the [Subjective Theory of Value](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective_theory_of_value) as it puts value in front of utility. I don't want to claim that this theory is set in stone but, if it has to be amended, it has to be very well justified. In my view, there are absolutely no grounds for amendment within the above narrative. As I fully reject the collectible whimsy argument to explain Bitcoin bootstrapping, the only argument left is that the collectible is valuable because it is a store of value, which is obviously circular and therefore explains nothing. Game theory does not resolve that circularity either. Moreover, it is also confusing that the narrative assigns to store of value the properties which belong to medium of exchange (portable, fungible, divisible, quickly verifiable, etc).
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+We are going to explain how Bitcoin fits very well within the Subjective Theory of Value and also within the historical stages of exchange described by Carl Menger. Leaving apart deferred exchanges (i.e. credit), the basic first three stages of spot exchange are the following:
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+1. **Direct exchange**: Barter.
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+2. **Indirect exchange**: When exchange is done in two steps using an intermediate good. Szabo's concept of "collectible" is a particular case within this category, which is using goods for long term indirect exchange.
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+3. **Money**: When a good used for indirect exchange is widely accepted.
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+We would deal separately with the concept of Unit of Account because this function fulfills the need for economic calculus which is an extremely important need, but different than fulfilling the need for exchange. Regarding the store of value function, it is not exclusive to money or proto-money, as all economic goods are by definition a better or worse store of value.
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+So going back to Menger, we find that to overcome the problems of direct exchange (barter) humans began to use some goods for indirect exchange, that is, demanding or hoarding a good not for consumption but for exchanging it for other goods in the future. For example, if I have the possibility to decide on hoarding cereal or eggs, it is reasonable that I choose cereal as it is more durable and divisible. As the concept of medium of exchange is still not imaginable for me, I wouldn't even assess how cereal would be demanded by others to use it also for indirect exchange. I would just rely on others demanding it as food in the future (durable) and that I can use it for several different exchanges (divisible). **Once this experience is repeated, the concept of medium of exchange clearly reveals itself and it is immediately picked up by human entrepreneurship to be further exploited.**

**Rewrite paragraph to "So going back to Menger, we find that to overcome the problems of direct exchange (barter) humans began to use some goods for indirect exchange, that is, demanding or hoarding a good not for consumption but for exchanging it for other goods in the future. For example, if they had the possibility to decide on hoarding cereal or eggs, it is reasonable that they chose cereal as it is more durable and divisible. As the concept of a medium of exchange was unimaginable at that point in time, they wouldn't even assess how cereal could also be demanded by others to use it for indirect exchange. They would just rely on others demanding it as food in the future (durable) and that it could be used for several different exchanges (divisible). **Once this experience is repeated, the concept of medium of exchange clearly reveals itself and it is immediately picked up by human entrepreneurship to be further exploited.**

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