In summary, crypto's innate casino factor drives otherwise irrational exuberance and chaotic dynamics via digital scarcity and the lure of speculative profit. Small wonder unique assets like NFTs exemplify this casino function, with no other way to rationalize their impulsive price leaps. Unlike gold, quantifiable crypto supply enables minute-to-minute wagering on ups and downs. Indeed, traditional financial markets hunger for this casino-like asset class because it satisfies specialist traders' core need - something to trade rapidly for short-term gains. Such speculative appeal matters more than stable utility for many 'investors' essentially betting on crypto prices to deliver windfall returns without fully risking their portfolios. These digital assets offer arbitrage potential - buy low, sell high, and gain big in a volatile playground.

For many users, the lure of crypto lies in profiting from extreme price fluctuation. I propose an additional function overlooked - the casino factor.

Is Bitcoin better for asset storage while Ripple facilitates transfers? Do contrasts with gold or fiat fully capture erratic market swings? Theorists wrestle to explain crypto's value and volatility. This financial technology governs exchange, storing value as a unit of account for pricing goods and services. We forget that all money is technology, invented to suit society's needs. Yet in our debates over function, we forget this fundamental truth. Cryptocurrencies are money - pure and simple.

Casino for function