It used to be the consumption of all wealth on the planet, with any other assets being colored coins or some incarnation of a sidechain. This was all /r/Bitcoin science fiction circa 2011 which has been attempted to be coded into reality and has so far not gotten off the ground.https://twitter.com/fluidfluxation/status/1000999093966114817 …
The markets will necessitate optimal expenditure of energy, and bitcoin optimizes marketing signal. If a *truly* better solution is out there, bitcoin scaling increases the demand and incentive potential for said solution.