Don't get lost in the bond analogy. In the case of a bearer bond, you buy it at one price and cash it in at another. It's a loan. in the case of the Louisiana bearer bond illustrated, it is redeemable for $5 cash on January 1, 1886. It probably cost $1 cash on January 1, 1866. At the time of its printing, that was a $70 bill. Cryptocurrency is "redeem for whatever someone will give it to you for. Say, for example, Louisiana ceased to exist betwen 1866 and 1886. That bond would be worth nothing. Say Louisiana seceded from the United States because they'd invented UFOs or some shit. That bond would be worth a shit-ton because Louisiana currency would be worth more than US currency. Right now, crypto is volatile because no one is sure if it's going to become confederate dollars or UFO currency.