Is Bitcoin Money or Currency

[SirChiko]

Bitcoin isn't either money or currency.
Bitcoin is protocol

[allthingsluxury]

I'm in the camp that sees it as being in both categories.

[GenTarkin]

From what I have read, money as one major difference from currency. Real money functions to serve as a store of value , currency does not.
Other than that money has all the functionality of currency.
IE: fiat currency ... is really just that, currency. Due to inflation its not a store of value.
Gold, on the other hand is considered money because it has a store of value, it nearly always stands to correct the current inflation status of any given nations currency.

Bitcoin definitely functions as currency, but as far as being a reliable store of value... well time will tell. Sure, it easily can and is designed w/ that aspect in mind, but its so new that it cannot be judged for its store of value 'status'.
Bitcoin's ultimate store of value worthiness will be determined by the demand for its utility to function as insanely an insanely effeciency currency system. So far, that demand lies only w/ nerds & geeks & believers of that system. It needs to reach average joe demand and thats not gonna happen for quite some time ... if ever...

[Jakesy]

Bitcoin isn't either money or currency.
Bitcoin is protocol

OP is talking about little "b" bitcoin.  Of course, Bitcoin it is a protocol.  But specifically, transactions are both money and currency.  Money is the intangible idea (there are no physical bitcoins) and currency is our medium of exchange (ownership of private keys with unspent outputs).  Standard transaction outputs nominate addresses, and the redemption of any future inputs requires a relevant signature.

[iGotSpots]

Feels like more of a commodity to me than either of those, so I guess I'd go with currency as it essentially serves the same purpose

[fartbags]

bitcoin is a blockchain that stores and restricts access to information with public and private keys.

[Erdogan]

Bitcoin is money. The word currency can be used to describe the money that is most commonly used in an area. But in economics, it is only useful to consider money contra other valuable things. Money has value, unlike other things, only because they can be exchanged for something else, the value they have can not be consumed directly. Bitcoin fits perfectly into the definition of money.

Beware of bad definitions. One definition says the functions of money are store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account. But if you go deeper, you will see that there is no unit of measurement for value, so anything can be used for accounting. And: medium of exchange only expresses the fact that the value can be held in money for just the immediate future, not only for saving for the long time. What is left, then, is the store of value. So this is in my opinion, the sole function of money. Bitcoin again fits perfectly also in this definition.

[tyz]

A currency can be everything which a group of people accept in exchange to goods. It could be fiat money, gold, shells, stones, digital goods like crypto coins etc.

[magic ice]

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.  

Well your definition is boring and no one reads boring comments. lol

[johnyj]

People want money because it can buy anything, so universal acceptance should be a must property for money. In this regards, bitcoin is still not enough "money" yet

And currency is used only domestically, closely tied to government, so bitcoin is clearly not currency

However, it can do something that both money and currency can not do: Transfer value around the world anonymously and instantly, thus make the existing international bank settlement network redundant

It is a value teleportation vehicle

[spooderman]

The real question is this:

Is bitcoin money or Currency or both?


Or is it...

All three?

[btcxyzzz]

Bitcoin is the first real money in history of civilization.

[CoinTop]

Bitcoin is neither.

It's digital GOLD

yes agreed.

[bitbunnny]

to my opinion it isn't money, but it could be everything else: currency, property, virtual digital value...

[planetroving]

I'd say Bitcoin is both money and currency.

[ObscureBean]

Money and currency are essentially the same thing, money is general term while currency is money but country-specific. I'd say Bitcoin is neither, it resembles more a commodity than anything else, like gold. One very important difference is that there is a limited supply of Bitcoin which means that the value should keep rising over time while money/currency is unlimited and the increase in value of a particular currency is never due to scarcity.

[qiwoman2]

I believe Bitcoin to be a number of things, a technology, money, currency and even an asset like gold and silver. It is very pliable to represent a number of things in our times. It is also synonymous to social and economic freedom and has growth potential in a variety of sectors.

[ChuckBuck]

Bitcoin is none of the above...it's not Money, nor Currency, nor groundbreaking technology.  It's a damn cult!!!   

Satoshi is L Ron Hubbard or David Koresh, and we all drank the Kool Aid!

I want my Biontology refund back, Satoshi!!!!   





P.S. - This post is totally in jest.
 

[hazenyc]

Neither. It behaves like a produced commodity.
Or it's a token for doing validation work.

[BillyBobZorton]

Neither. It behaves like a produced commodity.
Or it's a token for doing validation work.

At the end of the day it is a token. But "token" is not very marketable.
Neither there are any coins, its just keys, but coins is more marketable, and the common folk understand it way better.