If the context is strictly investment, intrinsic value (aka "wealth") is not an especially useful concept. If your context is marketing, it might be more useful, though questions like the one asked of gold, and similar in the context of bitcoin, are mostly an intellectual curiosity. And either way, there is yet no known way to measure intrinsic value.
For example if you want to compare the value of a solar-powered calculator in 2011 to the value of a viking longship in 1011, market value doesn't work because the markets are simply not compatible. But there is still value there, both relative to people of the time and in an absolute sense.
For example if you want to compare the value of a solar-powered calculator in 2011 to the value of a viking longship in 1011, market value doesn't work because the markets are simply not compatible. But there is still value there, both relative to people of the time and in an absolute sense.