My reply probably won't be typical of the average Steemian, but would fall closer to the masses.

I personally see no long term value in Bitcoin. Nor most alts. There is obviously a risk with all alts, but when I jumped into Steem it was only because it had (at that time) eliminated most of the hassles of entry.

I am not much for the whole gold is the investment for hard times either, as you can't eat gold and those who you would sell it to would hold all the cards as at that time (one of desperation for most) they could dictate what you would get.

But at least with gold (and other precious metals) there are practical applications that it is useful for. If things were to collapse, holding numerical sequences accessible online (which might not even be possible in such a scenario) just doesn't add up to a good store of value for me.

I believe that those who believe we are owned by them, the ones increasing the introduction of surveillance tech and passing regulations dictating how we may possess currencies/utilize them want us on these chains where every movement can be recorded and analyzed for all time. Their false claims of chain currencies being the future of black market operations seems laughable to me, as they continue to match wallets with owners. Cash (or physical commodities) passed direct hand to hand can and often is untraceable. Which is why they want to do away with it, as their laws and regulations can never peer into hidden places and once the deal is done there is no record of it.

I do believe however that like with other speculations, the controllers of money manipulate the illusion of values, and for those who do not succumb to the cult of chain nor the cult of greed there is opportunity to make profits as the roller coaster of manipulation rides up and down. Convert on the high to the mass approved paper currency then flow into real assets.