I suspect that bitcoin is a way to complete transactions quickly and securely, but not a good fit as a “store of value”. The people using it as a store of value are probably those who ware in nations with shaky ecnonomies (which, I guess is *everybody* these days).
Still, you don’t want your money in Bitcoins. Just 2 months ago I was looking at buying some fraction of bitcoin to make an online purchase, then they where $120 per coin.
Bit coins recording keeping is done via peer to peer I believe, so everybody who keeps the client running is always updated on all the transactions that have occurred. So there is no “losing” your bitcoins because your dog ate your hard drive, all you have to do is keep your bitcoin address and you’re set.