Hearn: The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment

You're wrong, boom-bust cycles have been seen in economies long before countries detached currency from precious metals. There are at least as many ways for boom-bust cycles to exist as there are things that humans can speculatively value - which is a vast array of goods and services, including loans and expected returns, and even plants bulbs (see Netherlands and tulips). Even currencies attached to precious goods (e.g. metals like gold or silver) can be affected by speculation on the expected supply of those goods, and unforeseen events like the discovery of new supplies (e.g. the likes of Spain and other European countries went through a huge boom when they discovered the 'new world, and found new supplies of gold - devaluing the existing stock significantly over time).