Is Bitcoin money?

[deisik]

Bitcoin is money just as much as gold is. It's similar to precious metals. If there was no market for them they would be worth nothing but there's a huge market for cryptocurrencies AND precious metals. In my opinion bitcoin will do nothing but rise in price over time and is very precious "money" to hold indeed.

I need to disagree with you, bitcoin is not a money, the same with gold, they may be the same but not as money, they are assets, they are being sold or saved to earn money. Gold may be used to pay in the past, but not today. And you can say it is similar to precious metals, bitcoin is digital currency

I think many people would strongly disagree with you as well

Both in respect to Bitcoin not being money and gold not being money either. But you may still claim they know nothing but only you know the lie of the land. But what about Alan Greenspan, the former Fed Chairman, who admits himself that "gold is a currency", that "it is still, by all evidence, a premier currency". and then "no fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it". And I essentially agree with him. While gold is not used as an everyday currency with which you pay for your daily stuff, it still remains the ultimate currency which will be used when all paper gets burned eventually. This is a means of final settlement of accounts between countries, that's why Greenspan calls it a premier currency. And he certainly knows what he talks about

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[TimeManLove]

Money performs many functions. They are used not only as payment. For ordinary people, they are considered only as payment. For the economy of the country - this is an important tool. Bitcoin does not have the functions of supporting the economy. Therefore, it can not be called full-fledged money in the sense that exists now

[Mr.grin]

Yes, there's no doubt that bitcoin is a real money itself. And we aren't going to be here if bitcoin doesn't have a real value of money or it doesn't have to be considered as money. But because it is a real money we are in it and treating it also as an investment while we are using it for trading and buying other stuffs online.

I guess since its creation too, bitcoin has been used as a medium of exchange in darkweb. although it darkweb, but still inside their trade, and they use bitcoin as its currency. so, I guess, without knowing it, we all have to use bitcoin as money on the internet.

[XOOMBOX]

For me bitcoin is money but it is not in physical form like fiat that we can actually hold or carry. It is money because we can purchase things and make bitcoin as our payment.

[Farcoin12]

Bitcoin is definitely money. You can use it to buy and sell items which definitely classifies it as money. Also, it is worth a lot of USD.

[SimmonenY]

Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment. It can have different forms. Just as stone bracelets used to represent money back in ancient times why can't bitcoin serve as such?

[Eebertay]

Money is basically an IOU that is communally agreed upon

I'm curious how many people got confused after reading this sentence

But you are welcome to explain who owes whom exactly since IOU obviously stands for "I owe you", though I don't think that I for one owe you anything. In the same way, if someone is paying you with money which is an IOU, does it mean that he owes you anything? I don't think so. But then again, you are welcome to explain in simple terms how money is "basically an IOU". But please try making your explanation comprehensible, show us that you understand yourself what money actually means

Not sure about other fiats but the USD is an IOU "backed" by the us govt.
Before it was taken off the gold/silver standard, it was an IOU that was pegged to a certain chunk of commodity (silver or gold).

Now it is a piece of paper that is an IOU that the government says, "this is our property and we are giving it to you so you can purchase things in this country".

[Eebertay]

Bitcoin isn't money unless the Government says it is. We would have have to wait till the Government approves Bitcoin.

This is partially true:

BTC IS money, to a small portion of the world.

In the US (where i live), it is NOT money (according to my govt)

Case in point:

Say i am a store owner and someone wants to buy a computer i have advertised for $1000, for $1000 in cash. I tell them no, gtfo. They can actually get various police / courts involved to enforce this.

Now consider that same computer i have for sale and someone comes up to me and says they want to give me 1btc or even 1000 euros or pounds for it.
I can tell them to gtfo without incident because the us govt does not recognize any of those currencies.

[doomloop]

For me bitcoin is money but it is not in physical form like fiat that we can actually hold or carry. It is money because we can purchase things and make bitcoin as our payment.

you are right that bitcoin is not in physical form but bitcoin has all those features as fiat money, we can use it to buy things in online shops, we can use it for payment and for investment in any business.

[deisik]

Bitcoin isn't money unless the Government says it is. We would have have to wait till the Government approves Bitcoin.

This is partially true:

BTC IS money, to a small portion of the world.

In the US (where i live), it is NOT money (according to my govt)

Case in point:

Say i am a store owner and someone wants to buy a computer i have advertised for $1000, for $1000 in cash. I tell them no, gtfo. They can actually get various police / courts involved to enforce this

You claim to live in the US but you don't know the laws of your own country

I refer to specific laws regulating the trade and currency in which the trade should be made. The US dollar is legal tender in the US, but that just means that the government is obliged to accept the American dollars as a payment "for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues". But that doesn't mean that you, as a private seller, can't refuse to have business with anyone (for example, if he wishes to pay you with dollars), and that basically means that the purchaser cannot call police to force you to accept payments in the US dollars

Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy

You may want to read what the legal tender status of the US dollar actually means

Now it is a piece of paper that is an IOU that the government says, "this is our property and we are giving it to you so you can purchase things in this country"

Which property is owed exactly, a piece of paper? And why should government owe you anything in the first place? Typically, it is you who owes them some amount of money, for example, taxes

[Harlot]

Yes, there's no doubt that bitcoin is a real money itself. And we aren't going to be here if bitcoin doesn't have a real value of money or it doesn't have to be considered as money. But because it is a real money we are in it and treating it also as an investment while we are using it for trading and buying other stuffs online.

I guess since its creation too, bitcoin has been used as a medium of exchange in darkweb. although it darkweb, but still inside their trade, and they use bitcoin as its currency. so, I guess, without knowing it, we all have to use bitcoin as money on the internet.

Basically we can consider Bitcoin as a kind of currency in which it has value into it. Saying it like that it is not some kind of commodity but some kind of currency for a trade of good. While some can say that it is like a credit in your account, it can still be considered as money because it is being used in exchange of goods. Mainly if you look at the main web mostly we can say that there are only a few options in which you can spend Bitcoin in, while in the dark web Bitcoin is mostly the main currency that is involve.

[star citizen]

There is no certainty that Bitcoin will overcome all the drama and succeed in the long run, but if there is one thing I can say for sure, it is that Bitcoin is more money than any other form of money I have ever seen.

[tabas]

Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment. It can have different forms. Just as stone bracelets used to represent money back in ancient times why can't bitcoin serve as such?

And the same thing with the usual money or fiat that we are using for buying different things that we want and need. Bitcoin is considered as real money and there's no way that it can't be treated as money because we can't deny that it can be use for shopping online, for purchasing whatever we want to online.

[fathur.aza]

I think whatever the name is that important can be exchanged for money. like bitcoin is gold in the form of money.

[traderMax]

It is important how we define the concepts.
Money is a change tool. We buy goods and services for money.
Bitcoin is also a change tool. We can buy goods and services with Bitcoin.

Bitcoin = Money

[Eebertay]

Bitcoin isn't money unless the Government says it is. We would have have to wait till the Government approves Bitcoin.

This is partially true:

BTC IS money, to a small portion of the world.

In the US (where i live), it is NOT money (according to my govt)

Case in point:

Say i am a store owner and someone wants to buy a computer i have advertised for $1000, for $1000 in cash. I tell them no, gtfo. They can actually get various police / courts involved to enforce this

You claim to live in the US but you don't know the laws of your own country

I refer to specific laws regulating the trade and currency in which the trade should be made. The US dollar is legal tender in the US, but that just means that the government is obliged to accept the American dollars as a payment "for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues". But that doesn't mean that you, as a private seller, can't refuse to have business with anyone (for example, if he wishes to pay you with dollars), and that basically means that the purchaser cannot call police to force you to accept payments in the US dollars

Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy

You may want to read what the legal tender status of the US dollar actually means

Now it is a piece of paper that is an IOU that the government says, "this is our property and we are giving it to you so you can purchase things in this country"

Which property is owed exactly, a piece of paper? And why should government owe you anything in the first place? Typically, it is you who owes them some amount of money, for example, taxes

Hmmmm...i dont think you know what youre talking about.

It is illegal here in the US to deface, destroy and alter money.

Also, i think the concept of fiat being an IOU is way above your head

[poplolnman]

Bitcoin is a product that can be traded for good and services. Much the same as tulips, jewels, auto, silver, gold, orange juice, pretty much anything you can consider. But, can we think of it as money?

No, we can't. Bitcoin is a denominated commodity that is electronically tradable. It is not electronic dollars. It is more similar to digital gold or digital wheat for that matter. There are 21 million of them. Each can further be divided into 100,000,000 subsections (8 decimal places). That is 2,100,000,000,000,000 bitcoins, or 2.1 quadrillion pieces.

then can you buy a cup of coffee with a silver? you can buy t-shirt, laptop, house and almost anything with bitcoin. for me as long as it could be used to buy something then it's a money. bitcoin even more than just money, it's a revolutionary money that unusual but become popular nowadays as an investment but also a lot of people used it to shopping onlin , trade online etc.

Yes that is one of the benefits of using bitcoin is you can use it as a secondary money and buy the things that you want online or in the real world if you like to. Bitcoin can be the future of money because the government might make a digital money to use it online and transfer remittances online and that is what bitcoin have.

yeah people love to spend bitcoin to buy stuff due its easy access and the flexibility where most currency have a lot of step to do especially when you want to spend it online , anyway about the future money i think bitcoin would not replace fiat , but it could be the first currency choice after fiat. bitcoin sure it's a revolutionary and future of money with its definition.

If bitcoin is the second choice of the people that means that it has not replaced fiat and fiat is still on the mainstream and people will use bitcoin as their secondary currency and even if bitcoin becomes more popular in future I don't think it can ever replace fiat.

i'm not saying that , bitcoin could replace fiat as people daily tool to pay something as i believe nothing impossible . but of course the proccess requires a lot of times not soon , people are overoptimistic about bitcoin . at least we have to think realistic too , a new thing like bitcoin could changed anytime just keep an eye on it.

[SoeNan89]

Bitcoin is definitely money. You can use it to buy and sell items which definitely classifies it as money. Also, it is worth a lot of USD.

But Bitcoin is not like real money, Dollar etc. Bitcoin is not yet accepted in any country for a official money.
So, in my opinion, Bitcoin will be a real money when accepted soon as official money in our country in the future.

[olcaytu2005]

Bitcoin really is money, because
1. Some people can -whatever u say- mine, produce Bitcoin, like money which has accepted by states, governments, state oriented organizations etc.
2. It has a value like normal currencies.
3. Many people use Bitcoin as an exchange tool.
4. Payments can be made through Bitcoin. For example, there are many famous websites which accepts Bitcoin and I learned that some restaurants accepts it also.
It is inevitable that Bitcoin would be a part of a monetary service or tool.

[virasog]

Bitcoin is definitely money. You can use it to buy and sell items which definitely classifies it as money. Also, it is worth a lot of USD.

But Bitcoin is not like real money, Dollar etc. Bitcoin is not yet accepted in any country for a official money.
So, in my opinion, Bitcoin will be a real money when accepted soon as official money in our country in the future.

I dont agree with your statement. Even if bitcoin is not used everywhere and not being accepted by all the govt. yet,  this does not mean it is not a currency. If USD is used less, will you say it is not a currency  
Bitcoin is a currency of course and no one can deny this fact.