Bitcoin Forum

What I mean by this is do people view bitcoin as:
1. as a money making asset (which is bought with the intention of creating future benefits/profits), moving back to fiat currency to take profit.
2. as a legitimate currency which people use to store wealth regardless of its price compared to fiat currencies?

I bring up the issue because of so much discussion on the forum around how much people make per week with bitcoin, and am interested to view peoples opinions of what bitcoin is and what they use it for.

Edit:
I think people are confused as to what I mean by currency. If you are treating bitcoin as a currency it is an absolute value, ie. The change in exchange rate between BTC and fiat won't affect your spending habits.
If people are saying they prefer not to spend BTC because they know the price will go up, then they are treating it as more of an asset in my opinion.

I use it as a hybrid of the two classifications you describe, might as well call it an appreciating currency to be completely honest. It matches the descriptions fairly well for both of them and it's not always possible to fit something completely in one category or another; a lot of things in life are a lot more complex than just one or the other.

It really depends on the user though, some use it a lot more like a currency and exploit discounts, others use it as an investment.

I guess almost all of the bitcoin users are using bitcoin are a source of there profit or a sort of there investment because it is really are a good investment and a good opportunities not just a store of our wealth but obviouly the value or price of the bitcoin is going up rapidly so storing your bitcoin is almost a investment for you.

I used Bitcoin as an asset of profit. I usually convert my fiat to btc and just stored it on my cold wallet. I'm in focus on collecting btc while its price is below 3000$. I will just sell it once it hits 3000$ mark.

I hold a some and trade an equal amount. Spend relatively little on goods and services because there are not many merchants year

That is an interesting thought that it does not fit into either category.

Maybe expanding on the idea, will there ever be a time where we see products set at a fixed bitcoin price, rather than the current bitcoin equivalent of a fiat currency.

At present I tend to always think of bitcoin not as an absolute value, but as its corresponding value in a fiat currency.

If people are using it as a store of wealth that is fine, but it is going to take awhile.

I like making 5% trades a few times a day, much faster to make money. To each their own!

I treat bitcoin as the money of the future. I'm not storing Bitcoin only because I need a quick profit and want to dumb at the first chance. But also because I believe in his capacity and future.

Mostly for profit but if it happen that I can buy something with it, I use it.

Part of the reason I ask this is it will be good to judge the market reaction if the price starts a major downtrend.

If people are in it purely for the sake of long term profit taking this could mean a catastrophic collapse.

On the other hand if people see its use as a store of wealth and daily purchases, then that may solidify its value.

I inderstand the speculative interest of most bitcoiners, but I use it basically as I use ordinary fiat money: to buy products and services. Only a small proportion of my coins are saved as long-term savings.

I make money selling bitcoin on localbitocins.com and speculating. Its a living.

I could say all of the above i use bitcoin as a money making thing to gain lots of profit then convert it to my fiat currency to buy some goods and services
then i store some of my bitcoins as an long term investment for the future. Bitcoin is a good haven to store your assets.

Well I think many people, including myself, view the bitcoin as closer to a stock (and money making asset) than an actual currency. People just want to own some BTC because of its rapidly appreciating value compared to other currencies. As far as I know, most places do not even accept bitcoins as a form of of payment. However, as more and more vendors start accepting the BTC , it may not be long until people start considering it a legitimate currency.

Bitcoin as investment, and get a good profit for having trading because of its volatility and not stable price. Its also a good source of income except from trading like most people in this forum do. As long its a money making method bitcoin is always the best. And if people store them as like bank do that's mean that they can see the true value of what is bitcoin for incoming future and what it will become.

your poll lacks the option saying "both". and that is how many users are using bitcoin. nobody can deny the fact that bitcoin is a good investment because it is a good technology which is being adopted more and more and that causes the price to always rise. but also this good technology is a good "currency" too.
the fact that 90% of this forum is getting paid to post means they are using bitcoin as a currency ;)

It is more of a combination of both for me, but a big chunk of it is treated as investment. I don’t want to spend too much knowing that it appreciates in value most of the time, so better to hold and save. This is also the reason why bitcoin’s price has increased dramatically because people now see at as a very good profit-generating investment that can beat most other conventional investments available.

I simply treat bitcoin as my future investment, I can spend it anytime and it is very liquid as an investment.
Though it has a bigger risk but I cannot resist this kind of opportunity, we are bound for a bigger market.

Most of the people here in this forum use bitcoin to buy things that they want, but some of the people here, including me are only using bitcoin as an investment, though sometimes, I'm converting small amount of bitcoin to fiat because I also have needs, especially to pay my tuition in school, and when I need something, that is only the times that I'm using my bitcoin. Im saving it and keep on holding it for the near future.

Another option: As a way to receive payments and make transactions that would otherwise be impossible or very difficult without it. Signature campaigns itself, the services and goods that are in the marketplace, etc...

1 and 2 aren't mutually exclusive, you may need or want to buy stuff or make other investments(diversification is good, if you have a big stash) and sell some bitcoins, but still be a long term holder.

So 1 and 2 for me, and also my "another option"

You should add a option number 3 - BOTH

I buy bitcoins and then I hoard about 80% of it and then I use 20% for daily purchases for food and the odd electronics. So for me, it is both a store of value < also trading > and a currency. This is also reflected in the way countries define Bitcoin in their policies. < some see it as a commodity and some as a currency >

Bitcoin break the traditional rules, by being multiple things at the same time. ^smile^

I use Bitcoin for several reasons:

1. Collecting more BTC and sell it when the "time" is right.
2. Backup emergency fund (in case my main source is not available anymore)
3. Alternative payment option
4. Extra little funds for gambling stuff. Profit goes to #1 or #2 :D

Same suggestion, its being used as both the mentioned reason. Bitcoin has helped greatly for ease of its transaction feature, acceptance of BTC in many online services has made it easy to buy/sell. And also the fluctuating value acts as way of increasing income or value of your money.

Personally I transact and store as well, love to use it as a currency which gives me profit sometimes.

I think it differs from person to person, personally I am saving bitcoin as long term investment even though there is no any clear law here in our country regarding use of bitcoin or storing them. But I have quite positive feeling that bitcoin price will grow significantly and even our government will recognize it as legal asset/currency in near future.

It really depend on the person. Like me, I buy bitcoin as a investment or store of value and keep it for long term. Because I believed also that the price will really go high in the future. At the same time, I'm earning bitcoin and used it as a additional cash flow on my offline business, sometime used to pay monthly bills as well. It is regulated in our country, so I don't see any issue with having bitcoin as investment. I also see community members using bitcoin in trading and gambling as well. So I say it really depend on the individual on how he/she is going to use bitcoin.

For me I consider it as both of it,
I think bitcoin is for my profit right now and as store wealth .

Bitcoin is really both of those things to me. It is a money making asset as the price just continues to rise earning me a lot of money. However, I also use it as a currency whenever I need or want to.

I voted for the 2nd option but I don't store much bitcoin because i'm always spending it to buy some things that I need or cash a portion out on an atm. I'm trying to spend less bitcoin as much as possible because recently the price is slowly increasing meaning more profit, I feel like I should also vote for option 1 because of this.

For me, bitcoin is a store wealth of currency were I believed that it can be a really key to resolve all my problems in terms of achieving my dream. But in our generation time bitcoin for the meantime was just a secondary currency that can be used online unlike US$ the present popular currency.

In my own opinion, most uses bitcoin as to earn profit because of its price is continuosly increasing.  Nowadays, people are attracted to bitcoin and currently they earned well because of investment. This, as a money making an asset, which is buying and moving back to fiat to earn profit.

Whenever I earn some Bitcoin, I try to have a little left on the side just in case the price of it goes up. Using Bitcoin when the price is high is good to do because more Bitcoin will stay within an account instead of spending a whole bunch of money on something that might seem cheaper a few months or years later.

I am pretty sure that there is not that many people trying to hold onto their Bitcoins

I think if you received  bitcoin as payments,also like in remittance then I think it falls also on category 2, that is  it is used as a legit currency.People use bitcoin as an asset as an investment,an online currency which you can use same as fiat in real world.

The community has different ways in using bitcoin. Some use it as a form of investment that will give them a profit through activities such as trading or by just saving it on their wallet. Others use it as a form of currency that will serve as a payment in exchange for goods and services both online and offline. Others use it for entertainment such as games and gambling.

There are alot of different usage of bitcoins which people tend to use here except what you have indicated in the poll,there are some taking this as a payment exchange for their expenses like me and store of wealth too and many more

I'm basically buying and hoarding them down for profits in future and I sometimes use it for payments of certain services that are rendered to me but I rarely use them to buy goods; maybe it's due to the fact that not many shops are accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment.

I can use Bitcoin as an investment and spend some time. But Bitcoin decreases the day the price goes up again. There is a big risk for.

although bitcoin is universal currency that can be use for purchasing thiings, but in present time as the users of btcoin are mot too much therefore most of the people are using bitcoin for trading and are making good profit from trading.

I use Bitcoin (and other altcoins) as a form of diversifying my investment portfolio. I can see its potential and love the innovation and technology behind it. So in relation to your above statements, both would be true for me.

Its helpful in community since it can be a good source of income, it can be a good job or sideline ,it will be easy to use and will be good for payment transactions.

I think that most people would be a combination 1 and 2, but for me it's mainly no. 2.

I'm too unskilled to trade on the markets because bitcoin is so volatile but I can imagine that experienced traders love the fact that bitcoin can be so volatile and they definitely will try to take advantage of that fact.

But for me I'm just a buy and hold guy. I get my coins, I send them through to cold storage, I wait till something bad happens with the economy or I need the cash in an emergency. It's something to fall back on for me.

So I don't really look at the price of BTC that often... Probably only once every few days.

I think the majority of bitcoin users are those who use bitcoin as an investment to make a profit. They store bitcoin as a very valuable asset. While users who use bitcoin to perform financial transactions are relatively small.

i only use it as currency use it to pay something, receive some payment and never save it even a little. actually i am little regret when see bitcoin's rate now because i sell too much in low rate. but still not want to save it for a long time

this poll doesn't have a both option yet!
so I voted for currency. but in fact even if anybody is using bitcoin as a currency they are automatically using it as an speculative asset (for profit or as investment) also.
right now we are on the fast adoption part of the chart even though sometimes it seems like price is stable or even dropping but we are still on an S shape chart with the initial slow phase long over and now we are on the steep rise nearly 90 degrees to the moon. and until mass adoption this will continue so the profit will be there. and at the end of this phase (which may take a couple of years) bitcoin will become a currency only with little profit.

yeah quite sure, i think majority user of bitcoin in this forum do both of those options. Because when user looking for bitcoin only to store, it's not complex. Using bitcoin as like a currency to make a transactions need by users to get experience and following advancement of bitcoin.

Definitely both! Most may use/set aside a bit for use as a currency like for payments,
shopping online, and the like.
Majority of the assets are used as speculative investments either by being stored/held as is,
used for Trading, Investing, etc.

But, there's also those who convert to FIAT, weekly.

You can't tell what is the use of bitcoin in the community specifically because there is a lot of people who are using bitcoin for currency and also an asset so there is no sense to compare because you can have them both. Bitcoin can be use as a currency and pay items using it and also earn profit by having an asset which gives you passive income.

If enough people will be using bitcoin and think of it as legitimate currency/asset then it will become one.
This is already happening worldwide, Bitcoin growing acceptance pushed Japan to accept it as legal tender,
Australia will follow with the same law in July. Fiat currencies might be more stable, less volatile and widely used,
but in the end they will reach the point when quantitative easing, national debt, inflation, global economic crisis
or other random event will make it worthless, or a least their purchasing power will be significantly lowered.
With bitcoin being somewhat more of an alternative economy, it is less likely to happen.

I mostly got into bitcoin cause it seemed kind of interesting. Here i mostly use Bitcoin as legitimate currency to store wealth and make day to day small transactions just like i would do with a fiat currency. It's much easier and faster.
But as far as i know most people out there take bitcoin as a form of investment where they can make some quick profit and get it back to fiat when it's the right time.

I use it as a speculative asset cum a currency which has got multipurpose usage unlike other digital currencies. Bitcoin is the only storage token that has got good reputation and continue to get used as a currency, investment, trading asset, earning source, transaction support system and so on. The same is not possible with other digital currencies, most were preferred for trading purpose and recently few have reached a state to get acceptance into stores.

some are using btc for gambling. didn't you noticed a lot of gambling sites are being promoted on the signatures of the users here int he forum? you wouldn't wonder why most of these users are also into gambling from card, dice and even sports betting is where they use bitcoin.  they'd prefer is with btc because some estate don't allow gambling, if they use btc, they aren't going to be tracked and need not to input their information online.

Your assessment is top notch. However, I will quickly add that I see Bitcoin as a hybrid between commodity/asset and fiat. And that's what keeps the price soaring

I guess for people like me, we don't have enough means to store wealth and in fact even if I can get 0.1 BTC it is worth more than my salary. So it's simple. I just keep collecting what I can find. I recently reached my personal target of 0.01 and have just joined a campaign.

Maybe one day I come back and vote for #2:)

Prices of bitcoin is continuously soaring because less number of people are selling compared to the people who are buying. People may buy bitcoins either to use for his online transactions or move into cold storage for the purposes of making his life into next levels. But I believe that does not matter and what we need to note, is people buy bitcoins but not selling. It means they started using bitcoins for their own purposes.

Hence using bitcoins as currency or investment is no more significant as long as not converting back to fiats.

Like majority of the people,i have tried a lot to treat bitcoin as an asset since its price is continuously increasing.But i was unable to do that.Since i have lots of expenses,i have to convert my btc to fiat irrespective of bitcoin's price increase or decrease.But those who treat bitcoin as an asset are lucky enough to have a great future.

While I'm holding my BTCs, I'm threating it as "store of wealth", when I sell it I'm threating Bitcoins as "Speculative Asset", selling it and making some profit over the BTCs, but with intention to buy again later to continue this process in looping. I think option one seems like medium term investment and option two seems like long term investment.

One way or another we can treat bitcoin as what are we planning to do with it, as long as you are earning with it of saving some thing because of it really depends on the situation on what type of things they can do with bitcoin but as the name imply as Cryptocurrency I think we can say that it is really a currency that partially had a value of a money that are very high to dollar right now, and I think you can compare it to gold too because of the relative exchange of the two counter to dollar, well I am treating Bitcoin as both, and I think it depends on the situation on what your gonna be using bitcoin for.

I use it as a way to pay and be paid. I look at Bitcoin as the newest and greatest technology and I want to be a part of it. Why would I use Stone age fiat ;)  I love that it allows me to be in control of my own money. So I treat it as an investment too as you can see it's done very well and there is no better investment it really is the best way to make money today. This is the technological age guys live it !!

Well since I'm in this industry for just a year, I'm using bitcoins as a mode of payment online and when having a transactions to people that know BTC also. The habit of " cash out when needed and hold when not " have become the system of mine when it comes to btc. Well as we can see the price it is at the 2000 plus us dollars so I see at as a store of wealth and if I had a lot of cash I would buy at least 10btc.

This is effective if we get source of income that continues to flow every week, our brains will think of the next stage of investment assets in bitcoin, the first time i know bitcoin, I feel endless confusion and almost a year I study it, finally I understand many ways to get and use it. For long term assets, bitcoin is very feasible today.