I also comment as an absolute ignoramus. One day, on a TV show I watch on the internet, an expert on the subject was interviewed and gave an example of how this type of currency works, which at least for me, clarified things quite a bit while also showing how irrational and "crazy" it is at its core. The example, I believe it was a real case from a few years ago, was based on a man who offered 10,000 Bitcoins to anyone who brought a pizza to his house, and someone did; there someone had already given a value to that amount of bitcoins, then as more people go on to trust the currency, it will have more value. It is really strange that a "currency" that "appears out of nowhere" can have any value, the fact is that the gold standard, as you rightly say, is no longer used, now the FIAT system works, which is basically the same thing: fictitious money.