Bitcoin Forum

Hi guys,
sorry for I am in my first contact with Bitcoin, but what I am really interested in:
Is bitcoin a REAL currency?

In germany our definition of currency (in german: https://www.juraforum.de/lexikon/waehrung) is something that is controlled by an institution - so a real currency needs something that regulates it.

Does bitcoin have an institution that controls / regulates it?
Please be kind, I am really interested in this technology.

If you are from Germany feel free to contact me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-m-768046172/

I can help you explain everything. If not that way you can find me on YouTube too. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQE-leBNZ5xKmI1vSha7hgA?view_as=subscriber

The classical definition of currency:  that is in circulation as a medium of exchange.
A currency established as money and controlled by government regulation is fiat money. A cryptocurrency is a new form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and central authorities. So Bitcoin is uncontrolled, but it is the "real currency" because it can serve as a medium of exchange.

• A currency by definition is any commodity which has a value and is accepted as a medium of exchange, Bitcoin fits this definition as it has been used for purchases and is accepted for payments by numerous outlets. Fiat is money cause it is generally accepted to be, same thing can apply to Bitcoin
Earlier this year, it was accepted as a financial representation of value in Germany by the country’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority or BaFin;
Imo however, regardless of the legal position of the country, Bitcoin has the qualities of being immutable, tamper-proof, trustless and irreversible, which makes it a suitable medium of exchange.

• A real currency does not have to be regulated, a legal tender needs to be. Bitcoin is not a legal tender. Its decentralization is part of the appeal that attracts people to the technology.

• Bitcoin does not have any institution which regulates it.

It's an equivalent of a real currency, many use it in trading (for me, the best one is https://www.ratingfx.com/instaforex paltform). If you take a chance on it, a big luck may occur.

Not all people consider it as a currency. There are people that use it, clearly, for investment and others for store of value.

For example, I belong to the third category. I don't use it as a currency, because there are really few -legal- places that accept it as a payment method (in addition with the dollar) and neither investment because I'm not a trader. To be honest, in rich countries like Germany, it wouldn't be very helpful. At least not like Venezuela.

Satoshi created it as a currency, but when you see that its price is wildly fluctuating, you just keep it.

in your opinion, how...! whether Bitcoin is real, the answer is in yourself, after you invest and use Bitcoin.

I have a little information about Bitcoin for you, you try to read below.

Topic: Common Q&A about bitcoin: non-technical edition. How much do YOU know? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3041155.0)

And if you want to use it with real money you can also read below.

Topic: NewBee - How to turn my real money into bitcoin so i can purchase things online (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1145954.0)

I hope the above information can add a little knowledge about Bitcoin, maybe there are many other things you can find about Bitcoin in this forum, good luck.

Indeed, bitcoin is a currency that can all be exchanged.

It is true, we have different standards for us to consider something a real currency.

But for me, bitcoin is a real currency. Although it is still under development and it needs a lot of time to become a certified and guaranteed currency in the world, those who already engaged to it will surely benefit its existence in the market in the near future. Bitcoin is volatile, and most of the people is making it as a reason why bitcoin can't be a real currency.

Although bitcoin is not tangible like the actual coin, it still does exist in the market and it is real that most of the people are benefiting this coin and can change someone's lives.

It is not real in terms of its physical form, but digitally, it is.

Bitcoin can be a source of profit, then you can turn it in to fiat so that you can benefit it in the public. It is not yet in the mainstream because of a slow adoption in the community, and that's one of the reason, they are saying that bitcoin is not a real currency because we can't see and touch it with our senses.

Yes it's a real currency with a real value that you can convert to real fiat money.

No one control bitcoin the price depend on demand and supply we have in the market. Regulate yes some countries already regulating the use of bitcoin base on their law but not all .

I do believe that the definition itself is very biased. This definition completely ignores the concept of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins.

I do believe that these things needs constant update over the years since we cannot always live in the early 2000's , since 2009 the government have tried to neglect bitcoins and label them *scams* and such but now it should actually be taken into consideration not only by the government but also the people.

- I do think you should leave such definitions and learn from your own experience , try using bitcoins and see for yourself.

_*_

It's just a currency which shows that - institutions are not always important when it comes to things like this. Therefore I do believe that it is a currency with real value no doubt. !!

Yes, Bitcoin is a real currency. Because there is no need for any regulation for a currency to be accepted as real. The most important thing is whether the currency can be used as a medium of exchange or not.

When you hear the word currency it’s means a transferable medium,  currency accelerate rapidly just like the Electric current. Bitcoin is also a currency that moves from one wallet to the other and with a strong purchasing power like other physical notes. It is a currency because it’s allows transactions and the evidence are seen with the physical eyes.

As real as any green dollar. Physical existence might be directly shown by anything but it exists and belongs to you of certain denomination as long you control ther private keys to spend those coins.

We have a whole German forum which is very active. You might get a better argument there to refute the same.

No. Bitcoin is used by anyone possessing it but it is not controlled by a central organization. The point behind this is that decentralization prevents censorship of the asset and thus manipulation of the same. There is a fixed amount of bitcoin which will be minted in total and nobody can change that to keep the deflationary nature intact.

A currency is a money that releases by the government and this must be legal and also some of them are included into the world of fiat currency and I think the bitcoin is part of the digital currency which is also a cryptocurrency

Bitcoin is a decentralized coin that is too much volatile, unlike the other coin.

Right now some of the use of the bitcoin is already adopting which is a good thing still it's in the different platforms.

I think that suits fiat currency and any form of its relatives. You can always argue that there exist another form of currency like Bitcoin or gold when it is used as a currency by pointing the philosophical aspects of what a currency is.

In the end, definition is just that, definition. It might be created by experts but there is always a motive behind it. You can disagree with them and draw your own conclusion.

I think bitcoin is a real currency.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a form of electronic money. It's a decentralized digital currency without is indenpendent of banks and can be sent from user to user on the peer-to - peer without the need for intermediaries.
Bitcoin is a decentralized, is not control by the government.You can use it to invest the way we make use of other money to invest and, make profit and the end of it.

Whatsoever that can be exchange for money should be consider as a currency: not be a legal tender doesn't make it not a currency. In term of regulations, Bitcoin doesn't need any form of regulatory body because of it decentralization. This feature of Bitcoin decentralization got the attention of those who are currently in love with the internet money.

And it is a Online currency in which had been tested that legit,though there are many countries that claiming this is not the way we think it is.
but as long as we can spend our crypto assets in many ways(upon availability in our location)

@OP while asking and learning about Bitcoin ,why not invest a little amount and you can judge why we are in this market and why we are supporting Bitcoin and crypto currencies.

Cheers, and welcome to the Crypto world.

Bitcoin is not a real currency since it can't be held with the bare hands like fiat/cash, but it is an online version of money,  so actually bitcoin is a digital or virtual currency which can be used to pay for goods and services,but at the moment a very few amount of shops accept  Bitcoin and in some countries it is considered illegal to use bitcoin.

Bitcoin is not controlled by any organization in the world, including the government.

Bitcoin is not real currency. According to the definition your mentioned it is not a currency whatsoever. Bitcoin is not controlled by any institutions, it simply cannot be controlled and regulated due to its decentralized structure and distributed nature. Currency is something issued by government and proclaimed legal tender, measure of value and unit of account also by government. "It is so, because we said so". Fiat. Bitcoin is different, it is not currency of the state, but money of people. It is akin to those monies humanity had had and used for thousands of years, before governments decided to issue their own backed by nothing paper notes. What is a key distinction between real currency and real money? In my subjective opinion, currency is something you are forced to use, and money is something you absolutely consciously decide to use. For example, you was born in Venezuela and thus forced to use national currency, bolivar, that is obviously awful and swiftly debasing. You would never choose such currency, if there were a free market for money. You would choose money that doesn't lose its value. It is a rational behavior. You simply forced to use bad currency. Bitcoin is not currency, it is digital money, price of which is being decided on a free market. No one controls its issuance, no one can print more, no one can debase and inflate it. If you are a rational market participant, you will choose bitcoin, since it helps to preserve your wealth and also with which you are not forced to consume instead of saving.

The US courts did declare it a form of money in Washington back at the end of June of this year. :-[
So to the states it is a seen as a real currency thus this is why there is strict regulation for any business to obtain a license for trading or anything to do with bitcoin & cryptocurrency. There was a whole documentary about it two years ago about this very thing.

This is a good color coded map showing which countries view bitcoin legal to use in their respective regions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

Bitcoin is a method of payment and a medium of exchange for goods and services, so
there is no doubt that its definitely a real currency. The only difference is that it is not usually issued by a Government and generally accepted because of being decentralized, unlike fiat/physical money that we used to spend in everything.
However, people's acceptance and adaptation in this industry to Bitcoin and the profits it gives to us, had made it so REAL. Real digital currency to be exact.

Everything that can be used as payments for transaction is Currency,and Bitcoin is one of them though there are also other altcoin that has same function now.

Look at gambling Sites here in forum or even outside,gamblers uses Bitcoin and other alts just to Play and enjoy.
This means that Bitcoin is real and you need not to question that.

also look at the capitalization it is Billions of dollars inside the market Prove that this is legit and real.

     Look op, the word currency has its very own definition. And bitcoin being called an online currency in this industry means that it fits the criteria of being a currency. It may not be the traditional currency that you are used to or accustomed to but it really is a currency online. It just so happens that it can also be called as a store of value like gold. Which is still pretty logical since bitcoin can really be used to store value. And in the past, gold has also been used as a currency. So yeah. That's how I understand it.

Hello there JamTheBen and welcome to the forum.
No worries, members here are good to the new ones.
Perhaps you should start here.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=39.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=39.0)

As you learn more, it will be easy to answer all of those questions.
Anyway, some have given good answers. You have a lot of reading to do afterward.  ;)
Enjoy staying here.

Bitcoin is a digital currency. This is a real currency. Though this coin is not legal in every country. Government can't control it. But in my opinion Bitcoin is the future currency. So i can easily tell you that Bitcoin is a real currency.

I believe, with the invention of bitcoin, there have been a change in the traditional definition of currency. Currency is now anything that can be used as a medium of payment and as a medium of exchange which is controlled or not controlled by the government.
Bitcoin has been used for purchases in several stores that accept it as a means of payment. Bitcoin has also been used as a medium of exchange. So it is definitely a currency.
Although, governments of so many countries deem it illegal because it is out their control, bitcoin is remains a currency. I believe with time, there'll be mass adoption even by governments

The government has brainwashed us into thinking anything they don't approval isn't or can't be used as a means of exchange but that's false. Everyday we make exchange with items that aren't officially recognize as currency per se yet the government seems not to do anything about it. You know why? Because they don't feel threaten by those other means of exchange like previous metal, natural resources etc but with bitcoin that has the potential to downplay all they have worked years for sure you don't expect them to just seat down and watch their years of fouling the general public go to waste.

With their definition bitcoin isn't a currency but guess what, bitcoin has been a better and real currency for it's few years of existence than the whole fiat currency have been. Bitcoin doesn't need some centralized approval to function as the community is all the approval bitcoin needs.

What?  ???


So the traditional definition of a currency states that it requires an issuer but this is due to the fact that when that definition was made something like a decentralized currency did not exist.

I believe the definition must change to recognize centralized and decentralized means of exchange.

Yes, but Bitcoin is a virtual currency.

No, a real currency is anything that can be used for medium of exchange or use to pay for goods and services and it doesnt have to be regulated by an institution.

The institution Bitcoin had is the crypto communities and developer working to improve its network but Bitcoin price is controlled by all its user.

Bitcoin is said to be a currency in virtual form, we can use it to buy food, stuff, and anything as long as it was accepted in a certain place or establishment. There is no official statement that Bitcoin is fully accepted worldwide but for a reason that people are currently using it and accepted as a form of payment, a big factor that we are soon more usable currency than FIAT.

The development will take some years or even decades. It needs more support especially from the countries leaders to fasten the development and officially announced. Because at this time, more people are buying crypto just for an investment.

Hi,
Currently, bitcoin is more a store of value not a medium of exchange, mostly because of its relatively high volatility. However, some countries/states recognize it as currency and apply relevant regulatory requirements.

It is a digital currency. We are able to pay and transact bitcoins online. Thus making it to be more realistic. Although it wasn't yet qualified as the "currency" in a particular country since it wasn't backed by any government organizations and bitcoin is decentralized. With this, maybe we can still see it in the future as a "global alternative currency".

They're just worried about money laundering activities. Unlike fiat, which has serial numbers assigned to every note.

Once they start embracing e-Wallets, adopting cryptos would be pretty much a piece of cake.

Bitcoin is a digital currency which can be use to buy something online so technically yes bitcoin is a real currency at least for some who accepts and uses it.
Tho bitcoin is built to be an asset not a currency but that is how most users use it nowadays specially that bitcoin is slowly getting accepted in multiple countries.

Eerm... I wouldn’t say that BITCOIN is a real currency, how about we just continue calling it a cryptocurrency? If you want to talk about real currency , they are the currencies that are regulated by the government like the USD, Euro, Pounds, etc. Bitcoin is an asset for me and mainly for the purpose of investment. A government website even called it a speculative asset. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and the rest of them are not real currencies, and that’s why they are referred to as cryptocurrencies, they are something else on their own.

What is institution defined as there?
Here is an online definition of institution:


Anyway, It doesn't really matter what it's defined as in your country. What matter is the truth: does Bitcoin qualify as good money/currency, or not? Bitcoin is controlled/regulated/governed by the network participants or users.  Your desired government/institution could aswell be part of the regulation if they want to.