Is Bitcoin money?

[carlisle1]

Anything that is being used as a medium of exchange is money. Bitcoin, like gold, is money.

Exactly! Bitcoin is money. It is what you use when you buy something, right? Just like a dollar bill, bitcoin is an invention we agreed to assign a specific value to in order to be used for purchasing. I would also claim bitcoin as a currency which is only applicable online. Bitcoin is a digital or virtual or online money or currency.

A commodity? Yes, it is also a commodity. It is something that has a specific value or use.

Indeed it is money that we the people give his own value depending in the demand or the currency virtual but it is a money that increased his value everyday.

nope fluctuations is present mate so not everyday value will rise but as a currency yes its also been classified as a currency as many online store already add this system as a mode of payments for their goods, i guess in due time it will be accepted in most establish businesses we really just needed to help to spread the information about this digital currency sych as bitcoin.

[Netnox]

Definitely yes! Why there is so much doubt and confusion about it? Bitcoin is a form of currency, just like the United States Dollar or the Great Britain Pound. Just because it doesn't exist in the form of banknotes and coins, you can't say that it is not a form of currency. And it is an entirely different thing that it can be used as an investment as well.

[frassyuga]

bitcoin can be used like paper money so I don't that there is any difference between bitcoin and real money as you can use it for online
Personally, I love the opportunities that bitcoin has given to every single person: you can just pay your friend through the web without any problem at all. I have had such a situation, where my friend from abroad have made me some kind of a graphics. Using bank transfer system would be annoying, and I have payed him almost instantly with bitcoin!

[satria btc]

Everything used as a means of exchange can be money. Mankind has used different clearing tools throughout history.
Bitcoin can be used as a exchange tool, such as gold and silver. People's demands determine the value of a exchange tool. it is not an actual paper or coin money which we usually pay on every transactions we do but it is also being used now on most transactions on the online market .  Bitcoin is a valuable exchange tool

[hosseinimr93]

If we define money as a payment which use for goods and services, the answer is YES, Bitcoin is money, We can pay bitcoins and get whatever we want and also we can get paid with bitcoins. But we cannot neglect the differences of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with dollar, pounds ,etc.
The most important difference is its fluctuations. Because of this fluctuation, for me bitcoin is a commodity and also something we can invest in.
But I think a day bitcoin price will be very more stable and all people will use it. That day bitcoin will b money.
 As a result for me bitcoin is future money that today is a source of income.

[Forester78]

Definitely yes! Why there is so much doubt and confusion about it? Bitcoin is a form of currency, just like the United States Dollar or the Great Britain Pound. Just because it doesn't exist in the form of banknotes and coins, you can't say that it is not a form of currency. And it is an entirely different thing that it can be used as an investment as well.

I would call bitcoin both currency and payment system at the same time. But for many, bitcoin is just that kind of money. Or goods, assets, investment objects.

[bncbnc]

Bitcoin as a currency, is accepted and identified as such even by various countries in the world, you can consider it money IMO to a very big level, if you deny it as actual money then the very meaning of money would need to be addressed, as this currency/coin is exchangeable and can be used to purchase things and other currencies, Even thought investors treat it as a commodity, it still fits as a currency.

i do not know why some people do not consider bitcoin as money. to me bitcoin is money and we can use it for online as well as for offline purpose also. because in some places there are already some shops who are accepting bitcoin for shopping, and even some counties have already consider bitcoin as legal currency and still counties are going to accept it, and hope that then the number of shops who are accepting bitcoins will increase more and more.

[Lecsor]

Bitcoin as a currency, is accepted and identified as such even by various countries in the world, you can consider it money IMO to a very big level, if you deny it as actual money then the very meaning of money would need to be addressed, as this currency/coin is exchangeable and can be used to purchase things and other currencies, Even thought investors treat it as a commodity, it still fits as a currency.

i do not know why some people do not consider bitcoin as money. to me bitcoin is money and we can use it for online as well as for offline purpose also. because in some places there are already some shops who are accepting bitcoin for shopping, and even some counties have already consider bitcoin as legal currency and still counties are going to accept it, and hope that then the number of shops who are accepting bitcoins will increase more and more.

Consider that most of humanity will not use Bitcoin or other crypto currency. I'm pretty sure that the Crypto currency will remain a valuable investment or a trade item, but not a money. Bitcoin can be equated to securities and it will be very good places in the financial sector. And real money will remain real money.

[imobil777]

Bitcoin is money.

[UCHCHILD]

Bitcoin as a currency, is accepted and identified as such even by various countries in the world, you can consider it money IMO to a very big level, if you deny it as actual money then the very meaning of money would need to be addressed, as this currency/coin is exchangeable and can be used to purchase things and other currencies, Even thought investors treat it as a commodity, it still fits as a currency.

i do not know why some people do not consider bitcoin as money. to me bitcoin is money and we can use it for online as well as for offline purpose also. because in some places there are already some shops who are accepting bitcoin for shopping, and even some counties have already consider bitcoin as legal currency and still counties are going to accept it, and hope that then the number of shops who are accepting bitcoins will increase more and more.

Yes, I wonder why too why they do not accept bitcoin as money. For me I consider it as money and aince it is called as currency it meant to be a money nothing else also it is called as coin so what is a coin it is a money. Bitcoin can be trade and be use to buy something online and offline. Also can be use to convert to fiat or local money. I guess they were just confused of how things work in bitcoin that is why they do not consider it as money at all.

[Makka]

I don't exactly understand what's the fuss about bitcoin as money or not.

If you are using it to buy something, then perhaps that already settles everything. Well, it is not in actual coin or banknote because it is made and agreed to be so. But, just the same, we all agreed to assign value to it and agreed furthermore that we can use it for commerce. However, as it is made digital, it is generally a digital money. But it doesn't remove the fact that is money, a new kind of money in this age of internet.

 

[Pumared]

Bitcoin is money, whether accepted by all or not. The fact that it is digital does not change the way it is treated, money or not.

[magmar]

Yes it is, for me though. But technically it is because we can exchange it into a real money and it can do what money can also do. But the advantage of it is its price or value rises from time to time but real currency do not.

[snowcrashed]

Bitcoin is something radically new. Nothing like Bitcoin has been possible until now. I would go so far as to consider it sui generis; "in its own class".  This makes it important to understand what Bitcoin actually is before we try to describe it to others.

We're getting a good handle on the code, and of course on Bitcoin's function and utility, but what words should we use to describe Bitcoin itself? There has been some debate in other threads [mostly my doing] over how it is like/not like money, cash, dollars, etc. I'd like to start this thread by focusing on the term "money", and play Devil's avocate by asking for your best arguments that Bitcoin IS money.

My legal dictionary states "In usual and ordinary acceptation it [money] means gold, silver, or paper money, used as circulating medium of exchange, and does not embrace notes, bonds, evidences of debt, or other personal or real estate." [cites omitted]

Wikipedia says "Money is any object that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally, a standard of deferred payment." [cited omitted]

Webster's Online Dictionary defines money as:

• 1. The most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender; "we tried to collect the money he owed us".
• 2. Wealth reckoned in terms of money; "all his money is in real estate".
• 3. The official currency issued by a government or national bank; "he changed his money into francs".
• 4. A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined, or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a medium of exchange in financial transactions between citizens and with government; also, any number of such pieces; coin.
• 5. Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit, etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense, any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and selling.
• 6. In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money.

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I maintain that per these definitions, Bitcoin cannot possibly be described as "money". And further, I think that those who do describe Bitcoin as "money" are doing this community a disservice.

But that is just my point of view. Are there any that can convincingly argue otherwise, that Bitcoin IS money?

So I think Bitcoin is one kind of money but it's more than money because it's just like "digital gold", you can store Bitocin and wait for it to grow up and sell them. But if you are asking if Bitcoin is money, yes, it is.

[lmzxu]

Depends on the exact definition of money, I would say it is since it's exchangeable with value toward items, although the value isn't stable and fluctuate depending on the market and other factors as well, but in the end, it has an intrinsic value without even exchanging it and can be used directly to buy some items, hence money.

[darthmaul]

Sure it is and your post itself explains why it is so. Its not fiat we agreed that but it doesn't have to be fiat. It is just another form of the money which can be bought, borrowed, rented, things can be bought with it and much more. We can do almost all the things with it that we do usually with normal money or fiat money. Bitcoin is having proper value and it is also a form commodity in the market used popularly for trading with other commodity. It can be exchanged for other coins in the market as well as other currencies of the world just like you would do with the normal money.

[iced21]

Since it can be used to buy items, goods, services and can be bought and sold using other currencies then it's a currency, it can be used directly to buy items unlike gold, silver and commodities and it has an intrinsic value, Even in the most rigid view, bitcoin has all the characteristic of a currency, it being online or offline holds no significance regarding that.

[rapport]

Since it can be used to buy items, goods, services and can be bought and sold using other currencies then it's a currency, it can be used directly to buy items unlike gold, silver and commodities and it has an intrinsic value, Even in the most rigid view, bitcoin has all the characteristic of a currency, it being online or offline holds no significance regarding that.

It is a digital form of money. we can do the same things which we do by the normal currency in our day to day life. for example we can buy, sell, exchange,transfer etc. so bitcoin can be considered as money.

[nagobinga]

It's because bitcoin is called internet money and money will go out in our market. Such as online markets, merchants and others.

[RastMan]

No, Bitcoin is not money for me.
The definition of bitcoin for me is An exchange share, It can be considered as an investment because the price can change. A money is a liquidity that has a fixed value.