First, excellent topic choice.
>> What exactly do you consider bitcoins as; a currency, commodity, or something completely different?
Bitcoin is not easily classified. It has elements of a commodity like gold, and elements of a currency like the Euro. Let me explain:
The easy divisibility, ability to easily exchange bitcoin, and an agreed upon value make Bitcoin a currency.
The scarcity and ownership properties of bitcoin make it more like a commodity.
Bitcoin (capital 'B'), the software protocol, also has properties that are completely different than anything that has ever existed, which makes it very interesting to watch how it will be used.
>> Do you see Bitcoin competing with fiat currencies ($) in future?
Yes, but not any differently than Gold and Silver compete with fiat currencies today. As various governments expand their money supply to get themselves out of trouble, bitcoin, like gold, provides a good safe haven. 'Printing money' or the more politically correct term of 'quantitative easing' is really just a tax on the savers. After all, if it was just 'free money', why would we need jobs.
>> Do you see Bitcoin as a potential Global Reserve Currency?
The technology Bitcoin does have that potential, but governments that benefit from the status quo will likely try and prevent it. You see this already with governments making public statements about what Bitcoin can and can't be in relation to their own banking system.
Yes, it's possible.
>> In general, what do you see Bitcoin achieving/becoming in the next few decades?
It will continue to be attacked and maligned by some and championed by others. But the core breakthrough which combined a number of great ideas together into a working protocol for issuing, safely storing, and transferring value is now with us. It's not going away.
It will do to Banking (HSBC, Chase, Bank of America), remittance networks (Western Union), and existing payment systems (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal) what the Internet has done to the media empires (TV, Newspaper, Magazines). It will force them to adapt, disappear, or render them irrelevant. It will also act as a safety net for citizens of governments that debase their money.
For those reasons, I think each bitcoin (the currency/commodity) will continue to gain value, as more people and businesses around the world use Bitcoin (the transmission network) to store and exchange that value.
Tron
CEO, CoinCPA
Thanks Tron for the reply. I agree with many of the points you make. After seeing Mt. Gox collapse and Bitcoin recover so quickly I agree that Bitcoins will stay around.
Rachel
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