Bitcoin Forum

I was wondering that, since a lot of people say, Bitcoin is like cash, so I looked it up on Wikipedia:

"In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately (as in the case of money market accounts).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash

So, Bitcoin is definitly cash, per defintion.
So, please stop saying "Bitcoin is like cash" ;)

Agree. Actually, Bitcoin is better than traditional paper cash. If you're at work and your paper money is at home, it can't be accessed immediately or near-immediately.

Bitcoins, on the other hand, can be accessed immediately even if you're at the North Pole.

To my understanding the Bitcoin is not cash. It`s a commodity.
It has some value represented by market to USD, EUR etc... . But this is not important.

Are they mutually exclusive?

Remember: back in the old days, cash even used to be made of gold.

As turvarya correctly explained, Bitcoin is cash. And on top of that I'd say it's also a commodity.

Sure, but both Gold and USD also have some value represented in BTC. That's not the criterion here.

No , bitcoin is A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System as told in the bitcoin white paper :

- https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Oh, damn, it is already in the Whitepaper.
My extended reasearch was pointless ;)

To me its better then cash but for the average Joe its not cash yet... When McDonalds is prepared to process btc payments then Id say its cash. Even to the average Joe.

 :D , oh sorry ... but I think the answer was that :

"Electronic Cash"  Not only Cash.

"accessed immediately" , this is the feature that I don't think is fine with bitcoin. You cannot use bitcoin immediately to buy things what you want and what you like. We still have to first convert bitcoin into cash and then use it for daily use. So no I don't think that bitcoin can be used like cash.

Practically I'm not really bothered whether you want to call it cash or something else. As long as it has value and j can spend it anywhere in exchange for goods, items or services, that is good for me.

Cash is notes and coins that you can buy things in a shop. Credit card does the same thing but is not cash. Bitcoin can be accepted everywhere but still is not cash.

What kind of reverse logic is this.

"USD is not cash, because it is not accessible immediately. First, I have to convert money (like EUR or pound sterling or bitcoins) into USD, and then use it."  ::)

Obviously, the condition of X being accessible immediately, implies that you already have some X in the first place.

Bitcoin is better than ordinary cash. It is an electronic cash, fast secure and anonymous.
It can be use nowadays on several shops online and no need for fiat conversion. It can be used as well as a mode of payment for specialty shops that cater food and beverages.
A few more years from now and we will see the great mass adoption of bitcoin to our daily lives.

In your definition stocks and such would also be considered as cash. It does not fit the general idea regarding cash.

BitCoin is a commodity, like gold, silver etc.

No, BTC isn't cash. Read the first line on wikipedia.

Don't just read it, also understand it.
vernacular vs. finance use

THIS should be pointed out as a prominent advertising bullet.

Single coin, spendable only one time, but accessible from different places/persons at the same time.

Oh, least we forget people HAVE to know better than buying a "used wallet.dat" file for hard currency. All trades must be done inside the blockchain. Seen seldom, but some $&/%§"$ tried to rip off folks like that.

Really? They have internet connections at the North Pole? I think bitcoin has pros and cons, and believe me I'm a big fan, but the price fluctuations currently don't make it an ideal currency, though I realize that's just its fiat value and 1btc is still worth 1btc, but it needs to be a better store of value/

Yeah, bitcoins require an active internet connection in order to send them whereas cash does not. An important distinction to make.

But an internet connection (even mobile) is such a basic facility nowadays, it's practically everywhere.

And strictly speaking, I could give you a paper wallet, or I sign a transaction offline and give you that on a piece of paper, or send it through SMS, or plenty of other ways.

Besides, most cash registers, also the ones accepting cash, typically require electricity. And whenever there's electricity, in more than 99% of the cases there's also internet.

It's 2015, we live in an online world.

I'd say the most important aspect of cash is that it goes directly from one person to another, with no intermediaries or 3rd party dependencies or controlling authorities or delay or clearance requirements or other bullshit. Bitcoin and paper money both do that just fine. Except for Bitcoin you don't have to be face to face with someone, which seems a huge advantage to me.

i think we can change in real money and make it some profit with it
lets grow :D

bitcoin will be more functional this year
and let wait for it :D

Bitcoin is much much better than cash, other than it being able to be accessed everywhere, you dont have to exchange it for different currency before travelling from country to country, losing out on exchange rates and time. The con is that it is very volatile unlike cash, backed by government.

agree it will be easy to use it in another world as for payment :D

With a satellite connection you could.

Are you implying that the reason fiat money is not volatile is because it's backed by a government?

Well there is the accounting definition and then there is the common usage definition.  Most people saying 'cash' don't mean checking accounts or money market accounts either.  If you go out to lunch and ask your friend if he has enough 'cash' to cover the meal I am pretty sure you don't mean is the balance of his money market accounts greater than the bill presented.  You and he would both assume you are talking about physical slips of paper with dead people on them.

Tell that to the people in Russia or Zimbabwe.

And to lesser extent, the people in Switzerland. Or in Europe as of late, since the EUR/USD rate has plunged quite a bit.

(But sure, I get your point)

Bitcoin is definitely not cash!! Your transactions are quiet visible with Bitcoin while I can hand someone cash and no on will ever no about it!

But it doesn't need bags to carry.

Damn good argument.

yeah right bitcoin is more simple and very portable :)

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, created and held electronically.

The above is a definition I got from the internet. Bitcoin is more like virtual cash than real cash but I don't feel confident to hold bitcoins in my account as I feel more secured to hold cash in my bank.

I do understand, vernacular English, and that's the language commonly spoken everywhere.

No, it doesnt qualify as cash, Monero does tho.

[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]

No citation needed. Cash = totally anonymous. Bitcoin uses a public ledger, the blockchain, Monero doesnt.

Is anonymity required for something to be cash? That's the citation I'm talking about.

I dont know, but everyone and their mother think of anonymous exchange when they think of cash, thats what matters not some official book meaning.

Yeah, I agree it is not cash yet. Cash meaning money and money has defined properties that Bitcoin cannot yet obey.

I am pretty sure, my mother wouldn't think of anonymous exchange, when she thinks of cash.  Not everybody is paranoid ;)

Personally I think bitcoin is the evolution of cash and has redefined the very definition of money. I'm sure even if it's not bitcoin were using in the future it certainly wont be paper money or what we now think of or accept as cash.

Well, it depends on what you consider for it to be,
Some consider it as cash, some as tradable currency.

I define cash or currency as an asset that holds value either through literary form(gold), governmental-induced(which means the currency is worth less to be produced than it's preceding value, like fiat) or a widely accommodated item(albeit decentralized) that holds sufficient user awareness and adoption to give itself it's value(bitcoin). Just my own definition. Bitcoin fits the bill nicely.  :P

Bitcoin is not cash, it is gold

Ha, like petroleum/oil is black gold, platinum is white gold, bitcoin shall be the Internet's own gold.

To really understand the Economics of Bitcoin:
http://nakamotoinstitute.org/shelling-out/

Bitcoin acts as a commodity:
http://unenumerated.blogspot.ca/2008/06/commodity-hysteria-overview.html?m=1

Bitcoin is a scarce object:
http://szabo.best.vwh.net/scarce.html

Bitcoin enables trust & security concerning money:
http://szabo.best.vwh.net/ttps.html
http://szabo.best.vwh.net/securetitle.html

Internet gold or fool's gold?  :P

Generally yes. Cash is able to be transferred from one person to another without any record as to who was transferring it to whom.

Technically speaking bitcoin allows for the same feature (although it would be a horrible security practice) as someone can transfer their private keys from person to person

You say it's able to be transferred without any record, but is it required for something to be cash?

Paper wallets are pretty close, but that's the wrong question. The question you need to ask yourself is, "how much is the cash in my hand REALLY worth if it doesn't have at least three confirmations on the blockchain?"

Because sooner or later, the answer will be zero.

Well, very interesting question.
In traditional way of banking, cash is issued by bank and you receive it in paper.
Over time this changed because now we can pay with credit cards but still everything is regulated by banks.
So, in traditional way, bitcoin is not cash.
There is no bank behind BTC, no central office, no paper etc.
but, already with some merchants you can use btc and spend it, for different digitakl products etc.
you can even exchange your BTC to paper currency (USD, Euro...) and cash out.
It's true that mostly people still see BTC as investment only but this may change when ''big'' merchants'' like Google and FB accept bitcoin.

Bitcoin is cash in your computer. Currency Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer (p2p) latest digital that can be used to replace cash in buying and selling online. Unlike other online currency associated with the bank and use payment systems such as PayPal, Bitcoin is directly distributed between users without the need for intermediaries.

then what if you are outside? still need something to carry out the transaction, at least in android

maybe if the whole world legalize it, yes bitcoin deserves to be called cash

Paper wallets are the same in practice than any other wallet, because it all ends up in the blockchain.

Bitcoin can be cash if you use it or treat it like it is.

It can be a payment or wire system also, like a Paypal or Western Union.

It can also act like a commodity or tradeable asset, as it has price fluctuations and is easily traded on various exchanges.

It can be a way to notarize or record an important event, as evidenced by the Blockchain ledger.

That is the beauty of Bitcoin, and advantage, over traditional cash...it has many layers, utilities, and functions.

Why is it a commodity and not a currency? I think it fits the mold of what cash is, but has just redefined the definition.