Bitcoin Forum

I have been reading about the differences between money and currencies, even I have not seen anyone referring bitcoin as money but only as currency. I read about the difference on many site. Check the quotes below:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money


https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-currency-and-money

https://quickonomics.com/different-types-of-money/

https://medium.com/@goldma/currency-vs-money-did-you-know-theres-a-difference-f344aa496867

From all quoted links above, it is evident that bitcoin is actually money, I still have other links that proved this but did not included it because I want this topic to be easily readable.

Gold, silver and and the likes are money which has been existing and have intrinsic value. Like I have mentioned, money can not be seen, only currencies can be seen and the intrinsic value of gold is its value in the world that is influenced by its demands and its price.

What about bitcoin? I will like you opinion on this but as for me, bitcoin itself is completely money because it is also a safe haven like gold, currencies can be seen physically but what makes the currencies money is the value they possess, this makes me conclude that bitcoin is money, bitcoin have such value and a safe haven people turned during economy inflation.

Money are not subjected to governmental manipulations but currencies do, the price of bitcoin is not regulated by any central body or the governments it is regulated by people that buy and sell it in the world and this makes it to have value like gold and the likes by having the same value all over the world not from country to country. So, bitcoin is money and will be referred to as money during its races to recognition.

Imo fiat is a type of currency and currency is a type of money...

I think bitcoin fits somewhere between currency and money because a lot of currencies generally have the qualification of being divisible and bitcoin has that whereas realistically gold and silver don't.

You are right, even gold can be referred to as currency, bitcoin is also currency, although bitcoin has intrinsic value but its price is still volatile and can be regarded as a currency, I am not disputing this fact. But I want people to realize that bitcoin is also money.

You should go to the relevant board (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=7.0) then :)
Perhaps this discussion (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5258273.msg54697798#msg54697798) will entertain you (read also the reply after that comment where I mention M1-M3).

If you will base it on articles that you've quoted, especially this one, you must believe that Bitcoin is not a money. It is a currency.
Just like what had been mentioned above, currency is not a store of value.
Bitcoin is not a store of value, it is not stable, therefore it could not be titled as money.


In fact, bitcoin isn't a safehaven, and it is more risky than gold and silver because it is more volatile. It's value varies largely on it's deman and supply.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency.... 'currency'.
So why did you think that it is not.

On July 22, Russia adopted a law banning cryptocurrencies. It is not allowed to accept payment in Bitcoin for goods and services, and the law prohibits advertising cryptocurrencies as a digital payment method. Based on this, I tend to think that Bitcoin does not quite fit the definition of money. For me, this is more investment of my money for a long time.

I think you can't draw that conclusion. Just because some countries banned it, doesn't mean it is not money. Not to mention other countries might allow bitcoin for payment. That's a really weak definition.

Some recognize bitcoin as a property.

English Court Recognises Bitcoin as Property (https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c5a44126-914d-403c-830c-90f02897575a)
Different government might have different view on bitcoin as that's how they regulate it.

However, I believe for majority, bitcoin is a money or a digital currency... this is a long debate if we dig deeper,  but for typical investor, bitcoin is an online currency that is decentralized and that its value will rise depending on the demand.

If I hold 1 btc, whether it's considered as property or currency in my country, but in reality, I can call it myself  as money since anytime I can exchange it with fiat and spend it like like how people spend fiat.

If its accepted on some stores like the traditional moneh then we can considered it as form of money like what was US telling us about in this case before.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-is-a-form-of-money-d-c-federal-court-rules-bloomberg

In my opinion currency or money it still can be equate as one. Some might not agree about bitcoin as money and just a speculative investment product but for otherd like most adopters they can agree that its a money/currency.

The Quora answer may not be very accurate. If it is, then here comes the big question: if currency doesn't have a consistent value, then which one is changing value: USD or BTC? :) Because if you take it the other way, 1 BTC will be equal to a constantly changing amount of USD and vice-versa.

In how many places can you buy stuff using gold coins alone? Bitcoin has plenty of them. It's used as a mean of exchange and as a payment method and that is enough imo for it to be considered money.

Currency, fiat, money, asset, liability, property. Who care about those terms and which one will be used for bitcoin for now and in the future? Do you think of a child was taught "This one is sugar, it is called as sugar because it is sweety". Another child in another planet example, was taught like that "It is salt, and it is called like that because it tastes sweety". Terms are created by lively creations, by humans on the Earth or by aliens on other planets.  Please don't take it seriously ;D

All I realize is bitcoin can build up my wealthier life.

A virtual currency, digital currency, stable currency, coin, people can name it with whatsoever name and term. But it will be bitcoin forever. Bitcoin is bitcoin, always. And about value one bitcoin is always one bitcoin. Fortunately, our lives can become wealthier if we hold our bitcoin for long enough (I could be wrong but it is my belief).

Both USD and bitcoin has no consistent value and are both currencies, they also both money because they both have intrinsic value which makes people demand for both.

USD has same value all the time, 1 dollar =  1 dollar all the time but the real things is its purchasing power getting lesser and lesser due to printing more and more money so which is a flaw in the fiat money or currency system.Whereas bitcoin, 1 bitcoin = 1 bitcoin but the price changes in terms of USD only due to lot of factors but 1 bitcoin = 1 bitcoin.

For me bitcoin and any other cryptocurrency is more of a currency rather than a money with a sure store of value. Though we all know that bitcoin is the strongest so far, we are not 100% assured that its price will not drop 0. What if we come to the point that all btc are already mined and then people suddenly lose interest to it thus demand will fall? Or what if all country decide to ban it thus lose demand as well? While on the other hand, everyone are willing to accept that shiny shimmering rare metal wherever and whenever. It will not be called precious for nothing.

Nevertheless, I love bitcoin more. Its volatility drive me crazy ;D.

bitcoin and altcoin will be judged based on the viewpoints of  communities and governments. if in our community we know the answer as currency or as digital money. the perspective taken because bitcoin can be used as a payment for any transaction, which is the value of a currency. while according to the governments in some countries, the value of bitcoin as a commodity asset and not as currency. so, if we want to discuss about this, of course the answer will always be different and will become a discussion that does not find a solution. like a common joke question in my country "which came first between chicken and eggs?" These OP questions will have answers that will be phrased based on their perspectives.

Currency and money is pretty much the same thing. Money is just a more abstract concept, while currency is usually used to mean some concrete currency. For example we say "everyone needs money" and not "everyone needs currency". Bitcoin, like any other currency, can mean both. For example:


People who argue that money means gold and currency means fiat are just trying to bend the definitions of these terms, which is strange because we use these words on a daily basis.

Bitcoin is same as currency and money, so far as it has intrinsic value, exchangeable, convertible to fiat and vice versa,   why always used as currency is because it has a general name of "cryptocurrency" that comprises of all altcoin too. Summit describes to masses as digital currency, and going further that it cannot be touched as paper money, simply put, it's both money and currency.

For me, it is both currency and money. Some court on Washington D.C rules Bitcoin Is a Form of “Money” found on this blog  (https://btcmanager.com/court-rules-bitcoin-money-washington-dc-money-transmitters-act/?q=/court-rules-bitcoin-money-washington-dc-money-transmitters-act/&q=/court-rules-bitcoin-money-washington-dc-money-transmitters-act/) and I totally agree. We have so many digital cryptocurrency wallet now, in my country we have local wallet which you can use to pay with your bills, etc. I am using crypto just like fiat, bitcoin is  really a form of money.

Bitcoin may be a global currency which will be employed by anyone within the world beyond race language caste and other categories this is often a borderless currency there's no international transfer fee sending Bitcoin to someone sitting next to you or someone on another continent will cost an equivalent. Meanwhile local currencies are limited by borders Bitcoin transactions are irreversible If you send something to someone you'll only catch on back if they send it to you Digital transfers are often catastrophic with a local currency like open-end credit payments which may be an enormous expense for merchants.

This is a little bit confusing for me. Is money not the same thing as currency again? Would you kindly explain this? On bitcoin, my opinion is that it is an asset and not physical money and that is why people buy and later resell for higher gains.

It's somehow both at the same time? I mean, currency could simply be said as a label for the money we have right now. An example would be in the term "1 USD", 1 is the amount of money you have and USD is the currency. The same could be said with BTC, 1 is the money and BTC is the currency, and you can't exactly say that BTC isn't money since it still basically pertains to the amount of money you have. It's kind of confusing since we use such terms interchangeably and honestly, I doubt there's even a reason to differentiate between the two. It's not like you need to answer whether it's currency or money before you actually trade anything after all.

Still, I think currency is the one that fits the bill more if someone were to ask. I mean, the value of money wouldn't change if there weren't any currency, hence you can't really use that, but if you were to use currency, you could change the values and as such, make the existence of each currency shown.

bitcoin is both, but also: magic internet money.

though fees are still quite expensive to be used as currency for everyday purchases.

For simplicity purposes, I'm going to say that money is considered anything that is legal tender by countries...

Money includes fiat cash (issued by the government) but it also includes items such as gold and silver (some gold collections like the britannias are accepted by the UK government as legal tender for example). There's the potential argument that gold and silver are money as most central banks will readily convert it to cash in its face value (or you'll find someone who can fairly easily). But gold is considered to not be splittable which is very much the case (if 0you heat gold up it can lose some purity - you're also paying a high transaction fee).

Currencies on the other than are things that it's possible to break up into smaller pieces easily - like fiat money and Cryptocurrencies.

Fiat coins often have inflation but most things outside of the fiat world are deflationary by nature in the outer money circle.

When considering payments, there are three classes. currency, money and mediums of exchange. Some things can be in all 3 classes, and some are in just one.

Currency is the legal tender of a country, and it may have no monetary value.

Money is an item of value that is generally accepted as a medium of exchange.

A medium of exchange is any item the two people agree to accept in settlement of a debt.

So a medium of exchange can be a cow, but that would not be money or currency today. Although I believe some African countries used cows as money in the past.

A nation's fiat currency is both a currency and a medium of exchange, but I would argue that it is not money, as it has no intrinsic value.

A gold Britannia is money, currency and a medium of exchange. It is legal tender in the UK, and it has a face value of £100, but it is 1 ounce of pure gold, so it has an intrinsic monetary value that is much higher. Obviously it can ( and is ) used as a medium of exchange.

The perspective of Bitcoin in our country Indonesia is Bitcoin as a commodity asset that has received regulation from the government. For some other countries may have a different perspective, depending on the regulation that is set. But in Indonesia only as a commodity asset and not as a legal payment instrument.

The regulation of bitcoin as a commodity asset is based because Bitcoin has a high risk of being used as a legal payment tool. Bitcoin is also not a safe haven asset like gold whose price will tend to be more stable.

Money is could be seen as what ever that is accepted as a means of exchange. Today we have money in various kind, the paper money, the metallic type and the cryptos.
The difference between cryptocurrency as applies to other physical currency is in the field of usage. As it is not readily visible but is an online currency within the web.
Else, it is as very much money like any another currency.

Bitcoin is more commonly referred to as a currency Most countries within the world use Bitcoin as a currency and are known in only a few places as money. But if the entire world supports crypto it'll become money Crypto isn't circulated in paper money for being operated illegally. it's widely used online and crypto is extremely popular within the online world.

Long story short bitcoin is currency and currency is money so bitcoin is just in between the both just like you said. Now what will they call fait too?

Can't it be both money and currency? Isn't a currency be used as a money? As for me, Bitcoin is both. It is a currency for trading, and a money that can be used for buying. There's no chance that that it would only be a currency nor only be money. Why? If ever it was only a currency, then there's no chance that stores nor services accept it as a mode of payment. And if ever it was only a money, then there's no such thing as Bitcoin trading and there would be no crypto market at all.