Bitcoin Forum

I think bitcoin is a world currency not a private currency and because he does not hold by the government and does not have tax.. and i am agreed for this currency. so all people are wrong tell us bitcoin is a private currency.

As per Wikipedia, the definition of a private currency is as below,

"Private currency is a currency issued by a private entity, be it an individual, a commercial business or a nonprofit enterprise. It is often contrasted with fiat currency issued by governments or central banks. In many countries, the issuance of private paper currencies is severely restricted by law."

So as per the legal definition, bitcoin doesn't qualify to be a private currency. Bitcoin or any other crypto currency is mainly a new kind of currency whose legal definition is still not framed correctly. Definitely these are not private currencies by the definition. Private ICOs are more closely related to private currencies by definition where the tokens are issued and controlled by a certain company using a private blockchain.

Interestingly your Wikipedia quote doesn't seem to be up-to-date anymore ;)

The page currently reads (according to the revision history since July 7, 2018; emphasis mine):


Wikipedia's definition aside, whether something legally classifies as a private currency or not completely depends on what your local laws say, period. Whether you agree with the definition or not is for the most part irrelevant (unless you have, say, government ties). If you want to change the language surrounding cryptocurrencies, that's a different topic altogether.

if the private currency means that the money is only used in one region / country, it will not spread in all regions / countries, so we can say the point is that bitcoin is common because in all regions / countries many people use it.

Private currencies are units of value issued by private organization, such as a corporation or nonprofit enterprise. A private currency is typically issued by a private firm or group, to act as an alternative to a national or fiat currency, which would otherwise be the standard unit of value in a country.
Definition as per investopedia.
I think as per this definition Bitcoin is a private currency.

Given definition by HeRetiK, it means that bitcoin is a private currency as it was defined as "decentralized" and what cryptocurrencies are? they are decentralized currency though some aren't.

Regardless of what this thread really wants to deliver, IMO its not a big case if you believe if its a private currency or not.

Centralized currencies are covered by the definition quoted as well:


I'm pretty sure centrally issued currencies such as Ripple have always fitted the definition of private currency to begin with.

Still, don't get too hung up on what Wikipedia says a private currency is.

It might be helpful to understand the definition of private you want to use... private as opposed to state-backed currency (this is the economic sense of the word, private enterprise vs public enterprise, or private employment vs public employment)? Which is what the wikipedia seems to imply, in which case Bitcoin is private currency.

It doesn't really fit the context though, as there really isn't a more public currency than Bitcoin. As HeRetik says, don't get hung up. What matters is where you live/transact/pay taxes. Jurisdictions have different definitions.

I think if we consider the operation of these icos especially those that have a private blockchain, we can agree that they could be known as private coin because they are actually controlled and monitored.


Decentralized is the major factor and term that totally distinguishes bitcoin. It means it lacks control by a body, group, institution, government etc.

Currently, bitcoin is still a private currency. I say that because Bitcoin has not been enforced legally by the authorized institution. Many people in other countries also don't know bitcoin. One time, bitcoin can become a world currency but not for now

According to the DEA (https://coinpedia.org/news/bitcoin-network-speculators-not-criminals/) it is not anymore. When they found out how to track transactions using the blockchain of BTC, the cryptocurrency cannot be classified as a anonymity based coin anymore and it is pretty evident by the decrease of criminal activity being done by way of BTC transactions. But before when the government has literally no idea on how to track the illegal activities, BTC was the number one most used way on how to launder money, and how to evade taxes, but when the law enforcement catch up we now know this illegal activities with BTC are now numbered.

Bitcoin is not owned by one particular person or entity. Nobody has absolute control over its supply or issuance, the way that fiat currencies are run.

Thus, if you are talking about whether bitcoin is a privately issued currency, then no, I don't think that in legal terms it constitutes as that. Unless a crypto is actually centralized and its blockchain is controlled by some company or person, then they are all not "private".

If you are referring to the fact that bitcoin addresses are private and anonymous, then yes, they are. However, all transactions are public. I do think that you're most likely referring to private as in "private property", or in a legal sense, though.

I think it's right that bitcoin is not a private currency, if anyone says that bitcoin as a personal currency is a big mistake, because bitcoin is used in all countries in the world.
there are some countries that can accept and use bitcoin for payment, but there are also countries that have not received it or even rejected it for reasons.

Bitcoin, of course, can not be called a private currency. Apparently, the one who decided to call it that way, had in mind that bitcoin is most used by private individuals, and not by the state or its structures. However, this name will be incorrect, because in this case it is understood that bitcoin was created by a private person and belongs to an individual. Most likely, it should be called a people's currency. This will indicate that bitcoin belongs to people, and not to the government and it was created by the people, since its creator Satoshi Nakamoto has not been established and has not yet stated his right to his invention.

it seems so, but unfortunately the course is controlled

Who told you that bitcoin is private currency? I've never seen anything like that. Noone actually own bitcoin, even Satoshi, yes he owns a lot of coins, but he putted the biggest part of coins into a free shipping to make the life of people like us a little bit better and wealthier.

For the word "world currency" then its not applicable yet not all people do have such possession of bitcoin and when we do talk about generally with currency then it is just good on digital and its not being regulated or being controlled or owned by anyone. The only private thing here is that you can have those coins without even knowing your true identity and you can really have that full control of your own funds.

It's an interesting question. I don't think the commonly used definition of "private currency" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_currency) really contemplates the idea of "issuance by computer protocol", which is how BTC is issued:

The Bitcoin protocol doesn't seem to fit under the umbrellas of "entity" or "enterprise." But BTC still seems much closer to private currency than the other end of the spectrum (sovereign/fiat currency). In fact, the above Wikipedia page mentions Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

I know that this is not private because everyone can invest in this coin, and the bitcoin can enter the whole country. so I can not say it's a private currencies.

Bitcoin is the currency for all and it can be used privately by anyone,but not completely private or anonymous because the bitcoin wallets and address can be traced easily through the blockchain explorer so if I know your wallet ID or the one if the address you have used I can get most of the details about your bitcoin holdings.

I have not even heard of anyone claiming that bitcoin is a private currency. In a purely legal sense, such an assertion would be incorrect, because bitcoin does not belong to any private person. With such an expression, one can agree that bitcoin will be used primarily by private individuals. States or government agencies are unlikely to make extensive use of bitcoin.

There are many misunderstandings. Some people interpret the public as a government. In that sense it is clearly not. Most government matters are not public. And many non-government matters are not personal.

Not every country are accepting Bitcoin as a legal digital currency but it is not a private currency. A private currency can be owned by any private or non-private organizations, on such details Bitcoin doesn't fit in to this status as Satoshi didn't own it but he releases it as a public digital currency with the help of blockchain, all the transactions are being recorded and can be viewed publicly.

 I really dont understand what you wanted to say but i will explain it to you this way. Bitcoin is considered as a private currency if and when yiu have a portion of it in your wallet. It can be used worldwide and the government does not have a control with it depends on the country you have.

maybe what is meant by personal, it seems that bitcoin ownership is not in one particular bank or depends on one particular country, but for the use of bitcoin it is general and global can be used anywhere unlike paper currency that must be opened first into the eye destination country money

Hi there! I think Bitcoin is not a private currency. Its a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks! A transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets included in the block chain. Bitcoin wallets keep a secret piece of data called a private key or seed, which is used to sign transactions, providing a mathematical proof that they have come from the owner of the wallet.I hope it helps. ;)

I think no one said it was a private currency except if you have links. Even Satoshi did not claim it was a private after he invented and that is why we all enjoying it. Anyway it is true that it was world currency but only for investments but not for spending because not all people and not all nation welcome it.

Whether bitcoin is private currency or not, I assume that bitcoin is a currency that we can use privately. easy process with free tax and without any government involvement will be a favorit one, since we can use it under our own control with no worries and no procedural things. It use widely, as the world currency, that's why people love it.

The bitcoin transactions are not completely tax free because there are some governments like USA are tracking the bitcoin usage so the user needs to pay the appropriate taxes or you will face the legal consequences,but we can use it on our own without banks help so it can be considered as private money in that case.But still people don't use it for the decentralization they are using its for their speculation.

Privately that you mean is not bitcoin used or regulated by one government or one company. But privately that is meant by bitcoin you can use freely without a government that will regulate all the systems in bitcoin. Even with a decentralized system all users can make an invasion related to bitcoin so that bitcoin can be accepted by many people.

Bitcoin is not a private currency because everyone can own this coin and there is no private company who controls bitcoin. Though its purpose is to make transactions privately or anonymous this coins can still no be consider a private coin.

Bitcoin is not a private currency if the term is used to describe an entity that is owned by a group of person as we do we companies or the likes, the code is open sourced and therefore available to all.

Satoshi made the biggest achievement in the human history. By creating bitcoin, people would stop relying on corrupted banks. But anyways, the government would not allow it easily. Although bitcoin is still used for dark purposes on the dark web, there are many other people who are using it for good purposes and for purposes that cover their needs in real life. Thanks to bitcoin, many people got happier and now they are moving forward with life.

I agree with you, bitcoin is a world currency that can unite all and reach a new economic level.

Yes, it can be use it in that way so it's depend on how people use bitcoin.
Personally I use for investment purpose, some people may use it to purchase goods that prevent them from their local tax.

Yes, it's possible !

it is clear that bitcoin is not a private currency, the reason is that bitcoin is not owned by a single country but bitcoin is used in almost all countries, all citizens in all regions / countries know the name bitcoin, but the problem is that there are also countries that have not received bitcoin, the reason is not yet known.

if bitcoin becomes a personal currency, then maybe only a private country is not possible to spread in all regions / countries, so if there is someone who claims that bitcoin as a personal currency is wrong.

At least now bitcoin becomes an individual currency if indeed in its country it has legalized it, because some countries still have not accepted it for the entry of bitcoin, maybe someday it will happen to become the world currency, because it will be very easy to trade or buy the country into the country other things

Bitcoin can not be considered a private currency, since it does not belong to any private person. He does not belong to anyone, no one has a patent for his invention.
However, bitcoin can be called a private currency in the sense that it is more used and, apparently, will continue to be used by private individuals, rather than state structures and even by not very active business structures due to its high price volatility.

I think bitcoin is a community currency without certain boundaries, bitcoin is a global currency that can be used by the whole world.

How many people have so many opinions about what kind of currency it is and why it is needed.

I think bitcoin cannot be called a private currency, because the different types continue to spread not only in one region or bitcoin country spread in all countries so if bitcoin is considered a private currency it is wrong.

I think bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in General by definition can be called a private currency. They are not controlled by the state, created by private institutional entities for individual purposes.

Actually for now Bitcoin it's not just a simple private currency because almost the whole country know all about the word Bitcoin so i think its not just a private currency maybe in the future whole over the world are known the all about in the Bitcoin. If they try to make this private make sure the'y dont get the bitcoins down unlike on other company they promising but eventually they going down after a few years later. Bitcoin is not just an private currency until in the future. 

Bitcoin is not a currency but yes it is private investment.

Bitcoin consider as an asset just like gold etc but bitcoin have the privilege that able act as currency.
But remember about the risk beneath of it because the comes the great power, comes the great responsibility !

Means that bitcoin able make you rich also able make you poor if you are careless !

Have a good looked on this, yes, Bitcoin will probably be getting you easily enrich by investment and on another side, it will also might you poor if you don't have enough knowledge on this. Bitcoin is not a private currency it is different than the traditional currency, even government hate on this due to lack of regulation but still people using on it privately as an asset.

Different people are having different perspective way viewed on bitcoin technology, some are saying it is not currency( in that case I will agree) and some are saying yes it can be used as a future currency. For me it is not currency is just like an asset that we privately invest just keep until we find our profit target. So, we can store it privately without knowing others and wait for a perfect time to sell to have our profit from the investment. Bitcoin is not a private coin it is open to all who wants.

I think it's both 2 kinds. It's a private currency also a world crypto currency.
We don't know who stored the coins so I think it's a private currency

Bitcoin can not belong to a private person, or a legal entity, or to any particular state or group of states. Nobody owns a document proving that he is the inventor of Bitcoin. Therefore, Bitcoin can be considered an invention of the people. Bitcoin can be considered a private cryptocurrency only in the sense that it will mainly be used by private individuals, and not by government agencies.

You can not say it's private. because everyone can enter the crypto. the crypto is a hidden currency that the world does not know. and so do not want other countries here because this currency is still low profile.

First time I hear that it could be considered as private currency... but for sure no. Maybe some other altcoins, but not this one anyway 8)

I think this shouldn't be debate on as it really depends on what country you are in and what laws is applying to the industry. Not to mention that there are also different kinds of cryptocurrency namely utilities which acts out as money and securities which are acting out as stocks of a company which some are paying regular dividends. Even the word private currency should be defined by your own law making body in the law itself in order for us to have just one common answer in place.

Dude, stop your non sense. So if the world isn't aware of cryptocurrency so Bitcoin is a private currency?

Do you know what is a financial privacy? Here crypto can be useful, but regarding Bitcoin it is called a pseudo-anonymous crypto since you are only identified by a series of numbers (your wallet) but the ledger is public and transactions are traceable

I think everyone is free to call it, because that is the function of decentralization itself, everyone is managing their money freely in bitcoin without any rules and interventions, there is no limit in using their money here, that's why bitcoin is often called private currency for some people..

You’re not alone.. OP is only imagining while writing or posting about this nonsensical private conspiracy theory of him.. Lot of newbies here in the forum stand out of having a genius imaginary capabilities that only them and the likes of them understand..

No such issue or even heard of an hearsay about bitcoin as one private currency in my years being in crypto world,, so this is new to me but certainly not true..

I think bitcoin is not yet "ripe" to be a world currency. Some more time must pass. Because now it is considered more as an investment of money.

How bitcoin can be a private currency if it's not issued by any legal entity, individual, enterprize?
Don't forget that this's an asset ussued by comp.protocol.
And it is not controlled,regulated, distributed by anyone.

Though I won't be schocked if I find the news about any authorities call bitcoin a private currency.

it's true you say, because the name of the private property is private ownership without people who have it, if bitcoin is said to be private property of one country, it means that other countries are not allowed to have it, if for example there is an argument that bitcoin is privately owned.

Counter question; how can a currency be private when it is issued by any sort of legal (central) entity? Their main priority is that they control every aspect of the network they operate, and that means being able to block/seize/censor money flows at will, or just because they don't like you. People really need to drop the idea that money has to be issued by a legal entity in order to be money or to have value at all.

With crypto everyone can issue its own money at will, and while I am not necessarily a fan of this due to all the garbage coins circulating right now, it's part of freedom and we should embrace that.

Well ya, I agree with you. bitcoin is not a private currency since there lots of people use it, nor it is the world currency since bitcoin hasn't accepted in all over the world. So, it is a little bit complicated to categorize where bitcoin belongs to. Apart from this, the important point is, bitcoin is not a private currency with its nature. 

Bitcoin is not a private currency because its blockchain is public, and transactions are not obfuscated.

Bitcoin is a currency that can be extracted for yourself and can be developed with market value, I think bitcoin is issued by the private sector and cannot be regulated by anyone. The holder may not be tracked but we can know the address of the wallet.

Bitcoin cannot be considered a private currency in any way, if only because the person who created it or invented it has not been directly identified. Satoshi Nakamoto was not found either in Japan or in another state, and therefore no one has the right to claim its authorship.
Bitcoin can be considered a private currency only in the sense that, in all likelihood, it will be used primarily by private individuals, rather than legal entities.

Exactly, and that is how the private currency can be considered as private if there's a huge group of people are using it and not by the community. In fact blockchain is not a private ledger so therefore we can't call it as private if the people using blockchain could have been trace using that transaction ID.

Bitcoin is not a personal currency and it will continue to rotate or change hands according to the wishes of the holder. Bitcoin has a high level of value than other coins and communities that are still loyal so that bitcoin currencies continue to be developed.

Yes, you are right, sir
Bitcoin has no legal umbrella, and is not the same as paper currency, paper currency has the legal umbrella of each country, while bitcoin is not legalized and but is not prohibited from using bitcoin.

It is prohibited when the government in your country hating crypto and banning this technology. Yes, cryptocurrencies are not yet legalized to all countries you couldn't call this as a private currency that you may have right to hold as long as you want. But, those countries did not have any law regarding crypto they are lucky enough and enjoy using this technology. We need more time to realize the government how useful these cryptos.

the definition of each user is different. I know that bitcoin is for the public because it is free to used by anyone but the definition of some people thinking that bitcoin is a private currency because they get privacy for their transactions in bitcoin. dont make this as a problem. this is only about opinion

From a legal point of view, Bitcoin cannot be considered a private currency because a patent for the invention of Bitcoin is not registered for any private individual.
However, Bitcoin can rightly be called a private currency in everyday conversations from the point of view that it will be used primarily by individuals. In my opinion, states and legal entities will not use bitcoin widely due to its high level of volatility.

Yes I am agree with you. When you say private it means only limited persons can used that currency and it will not.be in public and it can be used in lots of transactions. Just like what you said Bitcoin is a world currency or a public currency which is many people can do used or earn to it. As of now, Governmeng can not applied taxes because until now they are research about it and it needs to be more popular in many countries

Although bitcoin has not yet received authorization from the government but that does not mean bitcoin is a personal currency, because the use of bitcoin is not limited to an area but bitcoin is widely accepted and used by people in various countries and will continue to grow using bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a coin created by several people and most likely an organization. Therefore, it is not private but belongs to an organization or government.