Ah ok, so we're using different terminology. For me, crypto = blockchain (public blockchains without crypto wouldn't work) so when you referred to crypto without stating whether you referred to crypto-apps or crypto-currencies I assumed you meant any and all use for blockchain is a fad.
So, agreed, blockchain in general is not a fad.
As for crypto-currencies, its clear that bitcoin is worth something and there are increasing uses for spending it. Agreed, until bitcoin is used more as a currency than as an investment medium there will continue to be price fluctuations.
The primary business cases for crypto currencies I see are:
1) instant transactions
2) lower fees (zero with IOTA for example)
2) effectively fee-less international transactions
4) unlike using a credit card, paying someone with crypto currency doesn't give them the opportunity to charge you more than you intended
5) Access to Everyone: There are approximately 2.2 billion individuals with access to the Internet or mobile phones who don’t currently have access to traditional exchange systems. These individuals are primed for the Crytocurrency market. Kenya’s M-PESA system, a mobile phone-based money transfer and micros financing service recently announced a bitcoin device, with one in three Kenyans now owning a bitcoin wallet.
6) Fraud: Cryptocurerncies are digital and cannot be counterfeited or reversed arbitrarily by the sender, as with credit card charge-backs.
7) crpyto currencies are the only electronic cash systems which YOU own (no need for paypal, visa, mastercard or any other company with their own interests - the system is built solely for your needs and benefit)
8) btw, you can use bitcoin as more than just a currency. In many ways, the bitcoin/cryptocurency blockchain is like a “large property rights database”. Contracts can be stored on the blockchain. Purchasing real property typically involves a number of third parties (Lawyers, Notary), delays, and payment of fees. Bitcoin contracts can be designed and enforced to eliminate or add third party approvals, reference external facts, or be completed at a future date or time for a fraction of the expense and time required to complete traditional asset transfers.
