Is Bitcoin Money or Currency

[magic ice]

mon·ey (noun)

- a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively.
---


cur·ren·cy read as ˈkərənsē (noun)

-a system of money in general use in a particular country.

So, is bitcoin money or currency?

[Jakesy]

Money is unreal, meaning imaginary, intangible - a concept.

Currency is NOT money, but merely represents money.

[magic ice]

Money is unreal, meaning imaginary, intangible - a concept.

Currency is NOT money, but merely represents money.

So, bitcoin is... ?

[tokeweed]

If you think about it, it's like a new class of whatever's considered as "value".  This (crypto-currencies) is something we haven't seen before, really.  Some people think it's just a passing fad.  We'll see.

[ensurance982]

Both, of course. And topmost it is also a payment system. Oh, and it is a technology to prove ownership over something (Bitcoins in the most basic form) on a distributed no-trust-requiring public ledger.

[DLCseller]

BOTH! Its a crypto-CURRENCY that is used as money.

[Amph]

both because in contrast to the dollar, bitcoin is a store of value currency, the dollar instead isn't

there was a video talking about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyV0OfU3-FU

[Ron~Popeil]

I would consider it to be money right now. As more and more people use it it will be a currency. It is more than either option though. It is a technology that can and will change everything from elections to contract law.

[Jakesy]

Money is unreal, meaning imaginary, intangible - a concept.

Currency is NOT money, but merely represents money.

So, bitcoin is... ?

They answered it below, both.

It's not tangible - it's a concept.  However, we can assign it to individual addresses to spend it like currency.

Bitcoin is truly a first in human history, where we put theory to action.

[DannyHamilton]

mon·ey (noun)

- a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively.
---


cur·ren·cy read as ˈkərənsē (noun)

-a system of money in general use in a particular country.

So, is bitcoin money or currency?

It's a silly question since the answer is entirely subjective.

There are many working definitions of "money" and "currency" depending on the field of study and circumstances where the words are being used, so first you need to choose the very specific definition of those words that you are asking about.

I see that you've listed the two definitions that you are asking about, however, even those definitions are ambiguous.

I think that most bitcointalk members would be willing to agree that bitcoin is "a current medium of exchange", but you'd have to define what you mean by the words "in the form of coins" before we can determine if bitcoin lives up to your personal definition of the word "money".  Since they are called bitcoins does that mean they are "in the form of coins"?  If so, then yes bitcoin is "money" according to the definition that you have presented.

As for currency, clearly from the definition you've chosen it would have to be "a system of money".  Therefore, if you decide that it isn't "in the form of coins" then it is neither money nor currency.  If you decide that it is "in the form of coins", then it only needs to be "in general use" to be considered "currency" according to the definition that you've chosen.  Since I live in a country, and I've "generally" used bitcoin to pay for several things "Television, Camera, Vacation, Newspaper, Satellite TV service, etc) then it would seem to pass your "in general use in a country" test.

Therefore, once you tell us whether you consider bitcoin to be "in the form of coins", we can tell you whether it either meets both your definitions of "money" and "currency" OR neither of your definitions of "money" or "currency".

[ChuckBuck]

So, is bitcoin money or currency?

Bitcoin is money, currency, AND probably the most relevant and best feature...a protocol.

Bitcoin's Blockchain sets it apart from the fiats and golds...

[tokeweed]

So, is bitcoin money or currency?

Bitcoin is money, currency, AND probably the most relevant and best feature...a protocol.

Bitcoin's Blockchain sets it apart from the fiats and golds...

And it has real world value too...  At 245 per coin?  That's not bad really...

[sana54210]

mon·ey (noun)

- a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively.
---


cur·ren·cy read as ˈkərənsē (noun)

-a system of money in general use in a particular country.

So, is bitcoin money or currency?

Bitcoin connects money, currency and remittance and is going to be the future of money in the world. It is a crypto currency controlled by no centralized power.

[erikalui]

Bitcoin is mainly a virtual currency and a system of money NOT used by any country. It can be converted into a currency whether USD/EURO which are recognized currencies.

[Amevalentine]

it is both,

as it affected by market regulation also like currency, and said money because its valued on real.

[NyeFe]

Bitcoin is neither.

It's digital GOLD

[umair01]

Money most of the time in this generation has been governed by a centralized power, Bitcoin is the decentralized form of money we have, which is more convenient and easy to remit, To answer your question it is both currency and money.

[umairsaleem]

Bitcoin is some kind of assets and it's can be exchanged to other form of assets, in my opinion, it's still money but definitely not a currecny, some people are even asking to close digital good section which use Bitcoin as exchanging currency, so how can you call Bitcoin a currency?

[RonPaulBTC]

Bitcoin is everything, can be used any way you please, holding asset, currency, or even cash.

[funkenstein]

Your quoted defintions suck don't they.  

Money is "monnaie", coming from "Juno Moneta":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moneta

This word has a little bit of history pointing towards a "State" interpretation, which depending on what that means to you it might suggest bitcoin is not really money.  Some have certainly claimed so and this is a defensible claim in the context of it not being coinage of a Romanesque State-claiming apparatus.  

On the other hand, in common English money has taken more of a general usage, (i.e. the money shot, "that was money", "what's up money?", etc.)  and as such is more often taken to mean any exchange commodity.  Because any and all things could be used as exchange commodities, we could therefore argue that bitcoin is an effective money.  Context is important here going between the different meanings.  

As to currency, this implies a "running" or a flow, meaning that many people use it.  Cigarettes are therefore currency in some places but not in others.  Bitcoin is currency insomuch as (if) there is a large community of people using it as an exchange commodity.