Bitcoin Forum

I've been interested in the currency versus property debates in State courts throughout the USA.  It's an interesting topic to consider.  Outside of the theoretical debate, it seems to me that in practice bitcoiners themselves view and use Bitcoin as property and not as a means of payment/value transfer.

What are your thoughts?  And does it really matter? 

Categorization of Bitcoin is never ending discussion. It is a currency, commodity, property? This actually is a problem.

In one country BTC is currency in others commodity and some others are waiting...

Semantics and legal issues are the reasons why we don't have any serious bitcoin legislation in place.

In US bitcoin is classified both as currency (by U.S. Treasury ) and commodity (by Commodity Futures Trading Commission).

How simple people can be smart when even pros have no idea what bitcoin really is?

This is such a weird and interesting question,  because what is bitcoin really?  It's an electronic ledger entry.  It's the most abstract asset, currency,  whatever that you could imagine.   It'll be nice when governments finally decide what to classify it as.   

Bitcoin is actually a digiital program. a way of payment. and a currency..
see what blockchain says:


but in my openion bitcoin can be considered as a property also..

I just saw bitcoin as an instrument of investment and not as a property

i think bitcoin is both property and currency, Bitcoin is a currecy but once you buy it, it becomes your property because it is belong to you now,

as per definition of property by wikipedia:
that is my basis in my opinion and supports my conclusion.  8)

It is indeed an interesting topic to think of but that does not mean that it's profitable. We are an expert at something in our own different ways, if you're good at talking to people and you can buy and sell properties easily, then you can start doing that.

But if you already have a primary source of income that is enough to feed you, buy some luxuries every now and then, and you don't have the skills and time to buy and sell properties, then Bitcoin is for you. Selling and buying of Bitcoin is just a few clicks away, you don't have to talk to people. It requires no human interaction, you don't have to persuade a stranger just to make him buy your product.

I think it's interesting to look at the startup landscape versus reworks use.  The startup landscape seems to be focused on remittance and value transfer.  What's funny is big finance constantly saying Bitcoin is not a currency and the real disruption is the Blockchain, but isn't remittance and value transfer exactly the intent of currency?

From BitPay and Coinbase, to JPMorgan and NASDAQ, the ideas seem to be to use Bitcoin as a means to transfer fiat currencies, which I think is brilliant but limited.  I think Bitcoin is superior to ACh and SWIFT, but I'm also an advocate of the social revolution.  So simply a means of transferring fiat currencies kind of irks me a bit.

I would love to see the day when Bitcoin based businesses stand on their own without fiat.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem that's a reality yet.  The strength of Bitcoin is also its problem.  It's strength creates speculation and hording rather than the use of Bitcoin.  I'm guilty of this myself.

What does that mean?  Simple, do you invest in Bitcoin and hold it hoping for a future increase in value?  Or do you use Bitcoin to make purchases?  If you do use it, how often do you use it versus fiat?

yeah, for me bitcoin is just an investment possibility either, to be honest i dont put too much money into it right now but still it is better than nothing

I'd say that it is more of a commodity. Like gold, it is not issued by a central authority, but mined in exchange for spent resources. The fact that it is highly liquid as a medium of exchange (one of the defining characteristics of a currency) is not enough to say that it is, indeed, a currency, and only a currency. Gold was also freely used as a medium of exchange, when coins were made out of it.

To me it seems, that Bitcoiners use Bitcoin both as property and as a value transfer system. Bitcoin - even if virtual - is a lot like the earlier hard cash coins used as currency, that where made out of precious metals. You could use these coins for purchases, but you could also just store them and because of their precious metal content they would not loose their value like today's fiat currencies. So in that regard, Bitcoin is just a modern revival of the "good old times".

However, compared to the old precious metal currencies, the value transfer function of Bitcoin is much more powerful. With Bitcoin you can transact worldwide within an instant.

Maybe it's possible that during the last decades, people have become so accustomed to inflationary fiat crap money that it is hard for them to imagine that valuable property can be money at the same time... :D

ya.ya.yo!

Bitcoin cannot be properly defined... is this new, amazing but weird asset. It can be used as gold, or it can be used as a way to pay for your groceries if you can find the place that accepts it. So how to properly define it? very hard task.

Currency in most cases is not backed,with property you can tell there's actually something there which you can see,have property's plan etc. but however with the currency you don't hold actually anything,it's something which can really go either way and lose it's value or actually become more expensive.And that's why we've seen a lot of times in the past that certain currency can become cheaper and you can buy less products with it during recessions.

I would say that bitcoin price growing faster than the property which you bought or gonna buy and I suggest you to purchase some bitcoins and hold in the paper wallet this will shows you big price in upcoming years.

It's quite difficult to tell what is a currency and what is a property. I think, property's a bigger category. Alot of items that's a property is used as currency too. It's complicated to regulate these items by law. Laws often don't work well and contain paradoxes and holes. But people'll try to categorize the items anyway so you should research and be well aware of the mentioned gray parts. If you're aware of what belongs to that uncertain field, you can recognize when people just try to push you into their view but they cannot base it on any real law. In that case, you may be able to overcome their arguments and turn the situation in your favor.

If you take cold storage for example, and encrypt it, who's gonna tell its currency? ;)

Bitcoin is indeed a currency and a property,you cannot clearly define bitcoin since it is intangible ,every country will define bitcoin according to what they seems fit.In my opinion all the cryptocurrencies should be treated as a commodity similar to gold and silver.

Maybe the regulators should make a new category. Then in that category they should start from scratch and create new laws for it. If they will depend on the system they have now then there would be a lot of holes a lawyer could find. One good example is the man from Florida who was charged with money laundering using bitcoins. The judge dismissed his case because the judge declared that bitcoin is not real money. I think the judge did what he did because he does not want to make a mistake that will set a precedent in the upcoming money laundering cases involving bitcoin. It was way over his head.

Personally it looks more like the defining line between property and currency is getting more and more arbitrarily defined, and it looks like personal opinion precedes every other form of logic when you are required to define it. I personally view property as something more tangible and something you can see as an object, while currency is a token of value in my opinion. There are some lines that cross, e.i. a currency can also be property in a physical form, but for Bitcoin I would say it is more of a currency than a form of property, however even I think the line is somewhat fuzzy.

i believe bitcoin may not be property , it is like an digital currency , mainly used for earning online and exchanging to different currency. property means like you can says that will be for longer tenure , as bitcoins are volatile and prices vary an time  :).

Bitcoin is a digital asset.
Since it holds value, it can be used any time as a coin, but it's much more than that.

It's not logic for debates about currency vs loans because you can produce the currency for every time but not for the property if you giving an example like a house but I sure the land for making your house is limited and until this time I feel better for saving my money into property form.

The currency is a kind of currency to which it can spend the people buy food and clothes . And many more things . The property also has the things that you own that you can buy or keep worrying . Such as house and land is your property that can cause to your future children . Because the currency finds that even if you do not have a property if you have money you can buy it.

yeah, i think it is the best thats why i choose bitcoin over all the other investment options, i think that bitcoin is going to be huge in the future

Bitcoin is used in less than 0.1% cases of money laundering compared to standard FIAT. Do we really have to treat BTC like holy grail of money laundering?
Financial elites and banks and parabanks laundered probably more dirty money in in 21th century (last 15 years) than current bitcoin market cap is.

I agree that bitcoin is more than a currency and that's what makes it unique-it covers much more areas than just being a means of payment and that's what I really like about it.Bitcoin is much more and that's what it makes it better.
Actually I really like how BTC can entirely change the idea of a currency.

if we talk about fiat currency and compare it with property then i will like to say that property is too good than the fiat currency as the value of fiat currency decreases as compare to property which value is increasing rapidly, but if we compare bitcoin currency with property then bitcoin is too better than property because the price of bitcoin is is hope to be increase very soon.

The IRS definition is probably the most important definition because it dictates how you have to claim income from trading in bitcoin. Whether the treasury classifies it as a currency or not has no impact on how bitcoin is used, but the IRS classifying it as property has tangible effects on ownership and behavior using bitcoin. All other entities can consider it currency, but until the IRS agrees, it is subject to property rules for taxing purposes.

Bitcoin is a currency and will remain as long as it has reasonable value which is reachable by a common man. Once it will gain huge value as many people expect and price will be much higher then it will become commodity. This is what i don't like I want it to be used as currency a digital currency instead of being considered as property or commodity like gold or real estate.

Currency is what is used to purchase property so I do not really get the discussion here.
You are purchasing an asset when you take ownership of the property that you are buying.

What I'm getting at is that the real world use of bitcoin is property (ie an investment).  It seems to be very rarely used as currency (ie to pay for something).

My opinion is that for Bitcoin (or any other network) to grow significantly it needs to be broadly accepted and used by the mainstream.  I don't see any other way to significantly increase demand.  I don't see the mainstream holding Bitcoin as an investment.  Bitcoin's use as a payment vehicle seems to make a lot of sense for International transactions or in countries with unstable currencies, but it's difficult to sell anyone in first world countries on the USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, JPY etc that Bitcoin is a better means of payment than credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.  Especially when the truth is that we don't at all, or rarely use Bitcoin as a payment method.

I believe that Bitcoin will eventually emerge as the superior currency, but I think it will take another decade.  Until then, during the growth period of the network, it will be a good investment.  Which brings it full circle, again, holding Bitcoin as an investment doesn't encourage or increase mainstream adoption.

I believe that the debate is based around the question whether or not Bitcoin is a property or a currency, and this probably relates to how it would potentially be taxed in the future if the governments were to start recognizing it and allowing it. I personally believe that anything physical and hold-able is considered a property, something like a house or a car, while a currency is something that holds a form of monetary value and not intrinsic value based on one's perception.

I think the property also has a price? especially property prices seem to keep going up every year? What do you think ? investing in property seems to be more profitable than investing in bitcoin?

But for the money laundering bitcoin just waiting for their chance, until the criminal people is looking at bitcoin become a new way for doing that, especially for money laundering.

It does not matter, if its a currency or property as long as you can use it as an exchange to other items then its okay. After all if its currency or property as long as you can sell it or use to purchase things then its not an issue. But looking at bitçoin right now bitcoin is both a currency and a property. It is a property because you need to buy it using dollars but it is a currency since you can purchase things using bitcoins.

I know these terms as assets and not property.
Too me when i hear the world property I think instantly of the game monopoly and you are purchasing property to call your claim on the land that it resides on too.

No country has a same opinion as another one when talking about bitcoin. This kind of technology is something new and such cases never appeared before hence it is not even recognized by majority of countries and laws. It doesn’t matter if it’s classified under any of the class Asset, Commodity or Currency  because it is yet in evolution stage and it needs recognition at this stage to grow and survive (against possible government restrictions).  I would say, We need uniform identity through eyes of law on international level.

Yes, many countries are unable to determine what is actually Bitcoin. We need to reach consensus and adopt international rules that will determine the status of cryptocurrency

There is no need for a country to determine the fate of the bitcoin. It will be determined by a big community.

I would like to go with property only as of now because property very much legal to utilize in my country by sell in later also but bitvoin not legal now in my country. When the bitcoin become legal. then will switch option as bitcoin only not as the property.

Well you can invest both in currency and property but the point is that if you invest in property you do not have ready cash in you hand, and if some emergency situation arises, then you will be not in a position to handle it, even though you have the amount stuck in property. But investment in property is still a better choice.

In my opinion Bitcoin is intended as currency so I will stick with it.  Bitcoin is a currency that can be use to buy things online, pay your monthly bills, and even use to give loan to people.  I never thought of Bitcoin as property because it function the same way as money.


I agree because bitcoin faith depends on its community.  Because all result depends on how the bitcoin community leaders negotiate with the government.

It is true that many countries are still debating in which category of property to categorize bitcoin but if I were to recommend the right suggestion to the government I will suggest them to view bitcoin as a digital commodity or asset or property so that bitcoin may not attract high taxes (but different countries have different regulations against fiat and property). 

investing on property if you can't afford any lose and want to get a profit but you have unlimited time so waiting few years will not going to be a problem unless you have a limited time,want to afford such a risk and want to get fast profit,cryptocurrencies will be the best option

There is no serious thing for me to talk about this because what bitcoin really is would definitely varies on its users. You've stated that someone might used it as a currency and on the other hand other person uses bitcoin as their property. One thing is for sure that it is a medium for transactions.

I still think that Switzerland's and Denmark's approach to bitcoin legislation is the best -at least for now.
These countries opted not to regulate Bitcoin at all. Their governments think that BTC is not a significant enough phenomenon to substantiate legislation in its present form.

If you want only quick profit, then it also comes with very high risk so you shouldn't keep all your money in only high-risk investments because if something goes wrong, then you will lose a lot of investments. Instead diversify and put some money in property as well and over the time it will give a lot of profits but it takes some time to grow, and it is more stable. I will invest in both of them for sure.

It's in our best interest bitcoin being treated as a currency, usually property and property sales is subjected to taxation, that would make bitcoin exchange and using it as a means of payment very hard and much more expensive.

Diversifying   your  money would  be  a great  move though rather  than  putting  up all on a single investment which  the risk  of  lossing  and  getting   being wrecked in the end  would be  high compare  on  diversifying it  on many investments  because you could still to recover up when one of  investments fail.

Agree, that is why in Investment they have this sayong "Do not put your egg in one basket." By diversifying your investment, you lessen your risk and definitely losses.

https://amayzindave.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/egg-quote.png?w=300&h=300

The truth is that bitcoin is a chameleon, you want to buy something, then it’s a currency, you want to earn money form it, then it’s an investment, if you treat as gold, then is a commodity.

I prefer property because you can make money off it more than once. Virtual Assets hold tremendous value over the long run and are unmatched by just holding currency.

Yes there are risks, but since BTC is risky i'd prefer just sticking to overall growth of my portfolio. Working has better short term aspects, but is scrummy long term... Assets last ages and there's nothing that compares more.

The U.S. Senate will consider the issue of the dangers of Bitcoin for the national economy. Meanwhile, the course of bitcoin against the dollar has continued to set historical records. However, experts warn that the rising cost of Bitcoin is limited in advance by the system itself.

I agree with OP that bitcoin can also be seen as a property because you hold ownership of your coins and later on you can sell them for a higher price. But unlike properties in real life, bitcoin can be used directly to buy something. There are never ending discussions about this. It's not like we  can't look at it as both currency and property, of course we can.

Given the choice I would go for the property because property is a tangible asset and can fetch much higher return in future if invested in a good locality and wisely. But if you want to start from zero, you will have no other choice than currency. With less amount of money, you can't buy any property.

So it is wise to start with currency investment first and then you will be able to make a surplus money in long run, which you can use to buy a property.

Bitcoin is both a currency and a property. It is a currency because you can buy things using bitcoin online, you can even pay bills and many other things. It is a property because to have bitcoins you have to buy it using dollars thats why it is a property. The legislation should not have to make any noise about it or any problems arising from it. Lets just accept that it is both a currency and a property.

For me it is just a currency that gains more value over time. It is like dollars to me, I wait for a few months and see if the price gets high and exchange it to local fiat.

I think bitcoin for payment instruments and tools for buying / menananam shares. bitcoin is not a property. bitcoin will rise because it is not a lot of property that increased

We can treat is an investment but not as a property as property is something that you can hold physically and which can stay with you forever till you are the owner of it but we cannot hold bitcoin physically and it can be used anywhere in a real world.

those who invests on property must have had thought about the possibilities of in need of money in emergency situation so they are not going to invest their whole wealth into property,that's dumb move if they do

I think bitcoin is in early stage and more then how it is defined what matters is how it is used.It will be clear only after mass adoption whether people use it as commodity or as a currency 

the batle is win still property
you same 100,000 dollar, option
1 saving in bank
2 buy property
i think 10 year later, option 2 can grow this asset, option 1 is very low grow or nothing

I don't think that anyone will invest all their money in any kind of investment as everyone needs money for their basic needs and for that they need to save enough money which can take care in the times of emergency.

What you said is correct but we are assuming people are perfect and rational all the time which is simply not the case; there are a lot of people that have almost all their net worth on their houses.

What i can see is bitcoin catagorie as currency which its a payment option tend to digital payment.
If i choose currency or property i prefer to property for my long long term investment.
Bitcoin good to be an investment too, but it tend to limited supply have a period finished.

Yes, so far as i understand the question, between Currency and Property,
So definitely, i will choose property, if i afford it, because in my country, property value is very high, and everyone is demanded the property. If anyone have assets, first thing they will do only buy the property, because it is really valuable now more than bitcoins, But i can easily afford the bitcoins so that's why i choose bitcoin. 

Wonderful friends. Indeed essentially properties profitable far more than money, as the property will certainly increase over time, in contrast to the currency. most currencies are only given us the profit on exchange rates and it doesn't change the price. so indeed wiser to choose a property than the currency. There is nothing better in addition to property,

It seems that there is no unique attitude towards Bitcoin in.this legal definition. Some states who have regulated the Bitcoin have defined it as currency and some like property. In some cases there were even some theories that Bitcoin is in category of goods like gold or oil.
I'm more keen to treat it like currency but in general for Bitcoin users I don't think this is of essential importance.

i think every investor already thinking about their daily needs and for emergency situation,if they just investing without thinking then they will sure broke,to be investor they need to be smart to manage money and those who experienced already done it,so not going to be a problem

That is the main reason it is said that Bitcoin is considered as all in all, if you are using in online it becomes currency and if you are holding it for long then it becomes investment property.

And if you are comparing it with the real property then i think property is the best investment.

Value as a collector's item (the same principle as the activities of people who are collecting rare metals, stones, shells, stamps, paintings and baseball cards). Value, which is based on the fact that other people will consider your collectibles valuable and will want to buy it, thus enriching the previous owner. Gold is valuable for these very reasons. Not because it's shiny (many things too shiny), but because it is rare, durable, mobile and available for collecting. And in the hands of the owner, it can only increase your value directly proportional to the number of people willing to get it. Bitcoins are valuable as collectibles. Their reliability as "guardians of values" depends on the number of people that use them. The more people believe in the seriousness of Bitcoin, the higher the confidence in the payment system.

if your aim in to get profit i very agree with your opinion because every year property price always be increase so investing for property would be so profit but these option only good for long term and different thing if you have money and saving at bank i think that would not growing your money with pretty fast even though with high Bank interest because usually banks only give 1% - 5% profit from our funds and for every year

I already thinked about it and well, people call "money" a piece of paper, a gram of gold, a byte... It's all about people think and what value they put on it... A bill of dollar can be a property...

Bitcoin is an experiment. Need refers to Bitcoin as to any interesting startup in the Internet: can this system change the world, or maybe not. You should understand that investing time and money in new ideas is always a risky enterprise

Property is usually real estate. Something you can derive rent from, or build on.
It would be stretching its definition to call a dollar bill as property.  :)

 Savings is still your property so, basically they were both a property.

The only known as currency before is gold, silver, copper. They made a lot of coins on these, as time passes by the value of the product is growing and growing. It is too inconvenient to bring a sacks of coins just to pay the owner.

And by the small help of a genius merchant, they both then agree to use a special kind of paper. And VIOLA! We are now using it in our daily life. So currency is your property! ;D

For me, when a currency value rises up and a money i have in my pocket i use it as a savings on what has left from my salary. Currency with high exchange value affects on the money i saved and now it turns as a property to me which i value most as this is a strong foundation of my financial stability.

I can read that your main motive is to make money with bitcoin through buying at low price and selling at higher price. It is good for but can also see that you are making money through signature campaign because i saw you wearing that in your signature.

I view bitcoin as a currency and property at the same time. ;D

If there is deflation it`s better to invest in currency.

If there is inflation,it`s better to invest in property.

This is it.

bitcoin is whatever you want it to be, all these arguments are for the regulations and stuff like that. but for the users it can be a currency it can be a property or it can even be a plaything!

don't forget that bitcoin is not controlled by anybody meaning it is decentralized so don't let all these terms of currency vs property fool you.

Yes, option 2 can actually be rewarding in the long run but if you want to make good return on investment in the shortest time, then trading or arbitrage in bitcoin will be the best option to go for because you do not need to spend many years waiting for profit as can be seen with your option 2.

Depends on what kind of property you are buying and looking for. Some precious metals will increase over time, consistent with what you're predicting for option 2, while land and other forms of real estate can also increase in value, depending on where it is situated. Some places make a lot in value, others, not so much.

Exactly, many countries where land is not in a high value, if they countries people prefer to bitcoin, so i don't think that it is bad way, And in the opposite, in many countries, land is too precious, and a lot of people can't afford it, so for those people is better that they invest in bitcoin, because it is not necessary that we should invest more in bitcoin, if we have limited assets than bitcoin is best way than property.

Every person has a different thinking, different perspective, so every single person has different views about bitcoin as well as other things, some of us take it as a currency while some of us don't, some of us use it as money while some of us as an investment.
For me it is more of a currency then a property, by the way.

only keep in mind trading and arbitrage having even higher risk than buying property which is quite best option so far and will not going to make you lose your money,you can use the property and can sell it whenever you want

A property is a good investment if you have the means to buy it. If you have a property,and you are living in it os ok.If you have a property and rent it out,its a best investment as you have a rental income at the same time. But if you have a property and you let it idle and wait for the price to go up, its not maximized.

Property, as in real estate? Real estate isn't the most liquid asset, it's quite cumbersome to sell. Plus, 2008 should have dispelled the notion that real estate always appreciates in value, and the "buyer's market" that persisted for several years after the financial collapse quashes the notion that you can sell whenever you want. Of course, you probably could find a buyer when you drop the price low enough, but finding a buyer at a price you want is not a given at any time.

I agree. Finding a buyer at a price you want is somehow sporadic. Having a property is good in terms of keeping your money safe. For allows our money to grow "in time". But if you want a faster profit for your money, then you prefer invest or engage in trading.

Bitcoin as of now feels more like property than currency.

It is sort of an investment that you just sit on and then cash out when you want to.

Not as much purchasing power with Bitcoin on buying goods.

In a way you have a point there dude. It's now more of an installment especially now that the price is continually rising leaving holders in a waiting game :D

As described bitcoin as a form of investment has got similar features to property as an investment. Property grows in accordance to time. Very rarely investment on property gets failed or ends up in loss. Same is our bitcoin which is unpredictable and most of the time rises in price compared to other forms of investment.

It's a currency. Just because it fluctuates and isn't like any other currency out there doesn't make it any less of a currency. Governments just want to classify it so they can figure out how we should be taxed! There's no other reason because who cares? Everyone uses it for different reasons. Some people hate banks. Bitcoin is perfectly for them. Some people love tech, again perfect fit. Some people can't get a bank account, perfect. Some people want to avoid taxes (not so perfect haha. Don't forget to mix those coins ;)). Some people want to use it to store wealth. It's an easy way to do that for sure!

I agree. Bitcoin is more likely a property than a currency. Since if we invest it, it grows and we gain profit from it just like any property. I think most bitcoin holders make bitcoin as an investment than spending it in paying goods just like money. Most people convert it to paper money before they spend it than using it as virtual currency in paying goods. So for me, bitcoin is a property.

I can say bitcoin is both property and a currency its because if you choose to hold it well you can calld it as your property that will grow someday, and also if you choose to pay it for deals,goods,pays or anything transactions you want is can be called also a currency thats why i can say its both since bitcoins is flexible and can be used in different aspects if we want to, just used it wisely.

This is true. Governments are looking to classify it in a way that it can be taxed at the maximum levels.
But they are slow to initiate steps on this and courts all over the world are giving rulings on the classification of Bitcoin.

It means that bitcoin like cash is also liquid. You can transfer into cash, or buy nything you want. That is the advantage of bitcoin, and also through ime it also appreciates in value. Property also apprecciates in value, but in time of financial emergeny its hard to turn it into cash. You can pawn or well it for a lower price for fast transaction.

It's just point of view, something have a value or not doesn't matter do you spent it regularly or not. That is individual decision how will someone use it, or that depends just from someones need.
I don't know how to classificate myself in this matter, I gamble a lot with bitcoins I earn, from time to time I exchange bitcoins for my currency cause I can't use bitcoins like money in my county and I need money. For me bitcoin is currency, but probably we wouldn't be wrong if we say that bitcoin can be a property.

despite the court cases, it is still the government should determine what cryptocurrency. It is unfortunate that no tax Bitcoins can not do in the future. But the positive is that Bitcoin will be used in many areas

When you say Bitcoin is a property, even my fiat currency is my personal property, I own and spend it when I want to. But, Bitcoins are a currency or financial asset no matter what. It has liquidity and can be a medium of exchange, also it can be taxed based on the income earned and if and only if your personal details are tied to it, or else it can't be taxed or tracked reliably. Also a currency can be spent easily in any merchant, but with Bitcoins it may not always be the case, this is same with any crypto currency or online wallet applications that emerge. I prefer the 'Currency' classification no matter what.

Well, for me Bitcoin is rather a value, because when I earn a certain sum, I sell it. It is interesting that there are countries where BTC is considered to be property and not currency in law system. Venezuela is one of them, if I am not mistaking. I think that we can have attitude of property or currency speaking about any particular thing. Gold, gems and even clothes or hair are examples of it.

Well i do believe currencie may have a better result then property, due the fact you can buy a land, to build a house you will spend a lot money, and to recover such investment you need to rent, considering the financial problems affecting all countries, its getting hard. Bitcoin for other side i do believe it can get easy atleast 40% more into the next halving.

I think right now you are right that people are using bitcoin as an investment mostly right now but I think that is because the price has not stabilized yet. At some point, I think more people will use it as a method of payment or a way to send money.

I don't think it matter, as for me at the end of the day how we use it define what it is.  As of property and currency, I would rather have property that retain its value  rather than currency that depreciate overtime.  Property depends on its nature may increase  or appreciate in value overtime, like if you bought a land and the sorrounding of that land is developed, this land value will sure increase depends on how develop the land is.  And in relation to depreciating currency, land tends to appreciate as time fly.

Yes! Of Course Property! Although bitcoins continuously increasing its price now, i'd rather choose property. we never know if until when was the bitcoins continuously increase nor decrease its price. no one can control of its price. Unlike when you have property, lets say you have lot, the value of lot never gets depreciated but instead of, its value will surely increase someday. and you are secure enough not to lose property except you sell it. unlike bitcoins, you can lose it anytime.

When a currency is being used for investment for good returns, then the property will get banished over the time when the returns are slowly coming back. This is the promise we are getting from bitcoin ecosystem so we never need to worry about poverty due to lack of currency. Bitcoin will be the right solution but we need to believe into bitcoin to save it for long time.

Actually it depends on how you use your property, if you use it just for a decoration then you will not call it as investment, putting an investment in property is good if you really make it a point that it's gonna produce income. Such property can be use for leasing or renting it and you will be receiving regular income.

Why can't bitcoin be both? Blockchain says that it is currency so we should accept that definition, while the definition of property allows for bitcoin to be seen as such. We're all here after all because we own a little bit of bitcoin or some other crypto, and surely we see it as such the way we view property.

How governments will classify them in time to come will only determine bitcoin's legal implications, not it practical ones.

I think use bitcoin as currency or property is no problem. Bitcoin is worth as currency and property. It is proof that bitcoin is usefull and potential to grow our money. Bitcoin users are use it for payment, you can check out there are some site that accept bitcoin as payment option and there are some service business that accept bitcoin too,  although the number of that place is really small.

Very interesting topic!currency or property? Of course ill go for property. Currency can loss anytime but property will remain as long as you' re not selling it. Property never fades its value, but of course it was still depends on what kind of property. Some consider bitcoibs as a property but for me it was a currency that i can loss anytime. Investment on property was more practical than putting all your investment on bitcoins.

I'm not very familiar with the ongoing debates in the US courts about whether Bitcoin should be considered either as a currency or property (as a property right), but I'm not sure that by property you don't actually mean commodity. The reason for me thinking so is that property is basically an attribute that shows or proves that something belongs to somebody. Since you may well expect that bitcoins should be owned, there is no real reason to pit these two notions against each other...

Though I don't think it really matters besides the judicial system

Bitcoin prices are more volatile and no one knows what happens to it in the longer run. So I prefer to invest in property for long term profits than keeping cash in hand. And only some portion of my saving I will invest in bitcoins take the advantage of these high volatile prices. I will not keep more than 5% of my savings in bitcoins.

it is an investment because there is not enough places to use bitcoin as currency! not that because they call it property. and as we move forward, the more places and more merchants who start accepting bitcoin for payment this will start to change slowly and there may be more balance between how people use it as investment and as currency.

I am really wondering what would be better for bitcoin price. Consider it as an investment or using it as payment.
When you use it as investment you make the available supply for the others smaller.
When you use it as payment regularly, you increase the demand.
Both ways help to raise the price of bitcoin. My question is what way increses it more.

You can literally sit on money too

I guess in many developing countries people use dollars as a safe haven and save them under the mattress. On the other hand, the bulk of the US national debt is not in dollars as many erroneously think but in the US Treasuries, i.e. government bonds. It is only calculated in dollars. And these bonds are basically as liquid as the dollar itself, so they can be effectively considered as a type of money, not a property in the strict sense of the word, something which you can use directly, for example, live in the house you bought

When you are an investor you lesson the supply in circulation but that does not affect the spender because if they are buying online they care for the value of bitcoins not the number of bitcoins they are holding, I guess that should be understood so for both sides it's a win win situation.

Exactly. It's a currency because it meets all of the requirements of a currency. Whether governments approve it as a currency or not is irrelevant. If you can break something down, it has value, and many people use it to exchange for goods / services then you have yourself some money!

I think both of them is a mutual Requires because the safe place and profitable for save money is invest on property.

But in my country investing into bitcoins is more profitable than investing into properties. Also for liquidity, bitcoins are investment are better when compared to properties. I never bother about the volatility of bitcoins because I always believe bitcoin will have huge price levels in future. So, I keep more savings into bitcoin only less than 10% goes to gold and other investments.

Since when? How do you confirm your information? So, meaning to say the people in your countries knows about bitcoin, I mean most of them in the business sector.. I think you have to convince me with your information to believe..

I have always taken bitcoin as both investment opportunity just like investment in some property and a means of doing payments.

As a property it give opportunity to invest to hedge against financial crisis and economical disasters just like gold and also the purchasing power and monetary value of bitcoin will tend to remain constant due to limited supply and no inflation.

As a currency bitcoin can be considered as cheapest way to do cross country payment with really cheaper fee than sending it through normal remittance channel or through bank wire/swift transfer.

property is good investment and above is compare fiat money , real curency
because property every year value always incraese in price, and you can get return with you have property, you property can loan another person
real curency every year value always down because inflation

You must know the differences between investing on fiat and property. investing on fiat are mostly for short term while investing on property may take a long time to get pretty decent profit out of it. And when investing on the property you must already prepare to fulfil your monthly needs and for the urgent situation while in fiat you can just easily withdraw it when you need it

Actually i prefer to think my bitcoin as property to be prrecisely as an investment, not a lot of people using bitcoin as curency, because bitcoin is more suitable as investment and for sure the price is going to get better in the future

As per the current laws, bitcoin can be classified as property (asset), investment (commodity) or even computer software. This is mere an opinion and of course debatable in the grounds of law in court. In any case, the government can put a tax on it but the rate of tax  would be different across the world so we can safely say that bitcoin is secure at the moment but might get complicated if some governments decide to put a tax on it.

It would be more interesting to see how they are going to collect this tax once they decide to levy it. It is not so much about your responsibility of paying it (which is expected) as how much money they will be able to actually raise through this tax. My point is that, I don't see any reason why a government would want to impose such a tax if it couldn't at the same time tract down compulsive tax evaders, given that their number will be quite close to 100% with any degree of certainty...

Rephrasing Napoleon, one should never tax what one lacks the power to collect

I really dont know and im so confused. How government treat bitcoin. Is it currency? Is it property? But for me its both currency and property. Currency because its like money that anyone can accept and generaly use(ofcourse except countries that banned bitcoin). And property because you can posses and keep it anytime you want. This things doesnt matter to me. As long as theyre not prohibiting us to use bitcoin, im okay with that.

Are you curious in currency versus proterty in States because of the debates happen well it's really interesting topic and if you are going to trade or planing to invest your money into currencies then choose altcoin and also bitcoin this is the best practices to earn bitcoin and does not mean you already bitcoin you will always make profit.

For me its both, buying bitcoin constantly and storing them as property and doing several payments or paying for hosting, topping up mobile, buying domain, scripts with bitcoin just like any other currency.

You should read the OP before posting your reply, don't just see the title as sometimes it can give you another idea but what is asked in the OP can be different from that. OP is asking if do some people take bitcoin as property or all take it as currency?

I prefer doing both as balance activity either. Buying bitcoin and treating it as my personal asset or property will make you feel better that you are owning something worth and valuable. And that's good also that we may enjoy the essence of bitcoin for being a currency for transacting online and conveniently just like the usual way you are buying something with fiat.

storing like a property is like storing like an asset. An asset that will grow it's value in the future and that is bitcoin.

I suggest don't just save our money to bitcoin, though the ascension is not as large as the bitcoin. The best way is to choose both. We never know what happens in the future, property like house, land, apartment already proven good.

To me bitcoin is providing both the facilities, you can use it as currency as you can do online shopping using bitcoin on other hand  you can also use bitcoin as property, as if you hold bitcoin and the price of bitcoin goes high then it can give you a good profit so bitcoin is really a good currency as well as property.

At my place , property are better option for investation since my currency always beaten by US$ badly
So if I have my own house for example, I will keep invest on it for next 10 year because the value usually increase 500% !

not really. properties values are rarely falling whilst bitcoin's price could falling so often or too volatile. if you keep bitcoin as a property for long term then  you will missed so many opportunities to take advantage of the volatility. with the real properties you just need to wait and the value will be rising but need a long time

Since currency can be owned, it is someone's property legally

The difference is that property is usually taxed (a property tax) while currency itself is not taxable overall. There were efforts which could be construed as directed at taxing the money you own (for example, free money (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freigeld)), but as far as I know, this idea didn't catch on anywhere. Really, why would you have to pay a tax if you decided to save some funds to buy, say, a house? The bottom line is that money is not taxable, but property is, so if Bitcoin is to be considered as property, it should be taxed accordingly

Well one reason might be the volatility. In order for people to take bitcoin seriously as a currency, it needs to have price stability. It's never been stable in its history, so it's failing a major requirement of viable currencies. Further, the IRS has classified it as property. So at least they share your assessment that it feels more like property than currency.

In the US, currency trades are taxable. If you convert USD into another currency and later convert it back and realize a gain, you must pay taxes on the gain. It's the same for how bitcoin is treated as property. If you acquire bitcoin (not through buying it), you have to pay a property tax on it. If you buy it and sell it and realize a gain, you have to pay tax on the gain.

Bitcoin serves more as a property than a currency because of its price fluctuations.
For it to serve as a currency, its price needs to be more stable.

Well to be honest, crypto currency is a kind of technology which can theoretically destroy the domestic as well as international economies (though I don’t see such possibility in next 50 years for one and more reasons) so governments cannot bear the risk on the other hand it’s true that no one can trace movement of bitcoin with identity so it’s near to impossible for governments to levy taxes on it and who knows governments might be finding a solution for this.

You meant as an asset instead of property, right? Because a currency is a property as well, to its rightful owner. In my opinion, bitcoin is not an asset. It is designed to be transacted on a day to day basis.

On some levels though bitcoin can be thought to be the perfect asset that has the property of store of value as well. So bitcoin should be classified as a currency-asset. Digital gold, some might call it.

Well it's property because the value appreciates while currency the value inflates.

Not necessarily the government will impose tax on the users but they just have to focus on legitimate business that is registered to them and collect taxes. Exchanges, online stores, and online businesses, they will be the one who will pay taxes from their income.

When you say currency, I am assuming you mean money.
Money is important because it is a means of exchange for goods that might not be easily exchangable.money or currency also os a store value. A store of value means that money keeps its value in a sense that a car loses its value over time.unlike on property, property ensure efficiency within the financial system.

Property grows in value in accordance to time period but currencies won't vary in values to bigger extent. Another thing is that holding properties won't create great legal issues compared to the holding of large sums of money. Property too at times get devalued based upon the location of the property.

i would like to view bitcoin as currency, perhaps as crypto currency in internet world as other payment and connected with fiat in real world and not as property. because property for me is like something that visible to be seen and feel with hand. and for this reason, the bitcoin can act like money in the economic global.

A currency normally inflates its value but bitcoins increases its value. So that's not a currency IMO, it's a properly and our property is in demand now and maybe in the future so it will continue to have a good market value.

A currency value rises normally depending on the inflation rate on the exchange market. When its compared to bitcoin value its progressive and increasing  its value, which could be considered as our property to have for the future. So for me both currency and property which i consider bitcoin have its equality towards economical growth of currency exchange which will be having great market value in the future of cryptocurrency.

bitcoin may later be used as currency just like the dollar. but on the other hand my confusion when the future becomes the currency bitcoin. who is the creator of the country?. such as the dollar. were created in as

Whatever's your thoughts about what bitcoin is, it is a currency, property, electronic ledger, commodity, asset, formless money, it doesn't really matter. I assume bitcoin just like other currency and prefer consider bitcoin as my savings for future planning due to the value keep increasing and more development from founders and users in community.

This is unlikely to happen at all

Even if we assume that Bitcoin becomes a universal currency accepted everywhere and all fiats disappear (a fantastic scenario but still), governments could easily tax miners. Obviously, miners have physical presence, I mean, they have mining equipment located in some place, and today it is big mining farms in most cases at that. So governments could just tax every bitcoin mined, or every transaction confirmed after all bitcoins are mined

i think you're reffering the problem about who's the creator of bitcoin whilst dollar was made by US. the answer is satoshi nakamoto as the inventor of bitcoin. bitcoin was aimed to be global currency nor the main currency of specific state. and the creator may be wrote as satoshi nakamoto and not country

People mostly use bitcoin as a currency or maybe some of them use it as an investment as well and i feel if you invest into something that would be called your property, so basically it is currency and property both, currency in a sense that it can be used as money and property in the sense that it is also an investment asset.

I also use Bitcoin for investment. And even though the legal status cryptocurrency in my country is not defined, I think, that Bitcoin - a property. I can use this property as well as other values

In my country, it is a property.

i think it is demand of the new generation, they are looking for such an currency that may be more convenience for them to be use on internet for buying and selling, and i think bitcoin is the best option with them and most of the online lovers already using it.