To say that a currency is backed by nothing is always wrong. All currencies, however strange and exotic, are backed by something. At the very least, it is backed by a perception of convenience.
Bitcoin and other "unbacked" cryptocurrencies are in fact backed by their perceived convenience and superiority over state-mandated fiat currencies. They also have a very practical value in commerce involving contraband, and in money laundering and capital control avoidance.
State-mandated fiat currencies are backed by the full weight of law, People unable to pay their taxes in the currency of the land risk punishment by relentless state agents. It is also a convenient means of exchange. In cash form it even serves as a reasonably convenient vehicle for commerce in contraband, money laundering and capital control avoidance.
Gold too is backed by something. It is backed primarily by the jewelry industry, but also by engineering. As a conductor of heat and electricity, gold is way superior to copper. Gold will therefore always be priced significantly higher than copper.
While gold in itself is fairly inconvenient as a currency, any currency backed by gold will have the advantages of gold in addition to whatever convenience the currency itself has as a means of exchange. If such a currency attains the same convenience as cryptocurrencies, it will in the long run outperform all cryptocurrencies.
Given that "unbacked" cryptocurrencies have no other value than their convenience, it is inevitable that they will all go to zero once a gold backed currency, with the same convenience as a medium of exchange, manages to establish a foothold.
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