But the larger question is this: what actually makes someone care about sound money?
I don't think "number go up" is enough. I've watched people abandon things they believed in when the financial incentive disappeared.
Except there's a part of what you mean or meant which i misunderstood, i would say that Numbers going up is already enough reason why alot of people are into bitcoin investment today, because as you said it, people can loose interest in something they believe so much in if at any point in time, the financial incentives they enjoyed from that thing disappears, a good example is during the bear season, alot of people abandon crypto for other activities because they can no longer make money from it, but they return during the a bull season.
So lets put tech aside and be sincere with ourselves, if it was impossible to make money from bitcoin, would it be at the global level it is today and still growing?
What gave you your reason to care about Bitcoin beyond the price?
If i must be honest with you, what attracted me to bitcoin at first was nothing but curiosity, when i first heard and read about it, i was fascinated and wanted to learn more about the asset.
fast forward to this day, i already have learnt alot about bitcoin and aside the fact that its a kind of money that the government can never gain control over, (at least not the original bitcoin), my further motivation which fuels my continuous participation in the ecosystem is the fact that i can buy, hold bitcoin and actually make money from it.