Is Bitcoin money?

[greeklogos]

I think bitcoin is money.
We can use bitcoin for payment, so that's the answer why bitcoin can be called as money, but not as a good or a service.
But I would like to hear arguments of those people who don't agree with me.

[GendalfTheFireRed]

I don't see any argument in the OP that shows that mentioned definition do not apply to Bitcoin. e.g. I don't see how you can disprove that often mentioned "medium of exchange" does not apply to Bitcoin.

There are examples like gold, silver and fiat, but it is unlikely that they implied that they listed everything. Check the history of money, there are many examples that are not gold, silver and fiat. Bitcoin is electronic, but so are credit cards.

Really main point is being medium of exchange and Bitcoin is medium of exchange.

[eye-con]

I think bitcoin is money.
We can use bitcoin for payment, so that's the answer why bitcoin can be called as money, but not as a good or a service.
But I would like to hear arguments of those people who don't agree with me.

yes that's correct. as long as we can use it to purchase, used as payment method, can withdraw, and can exchange, we can call it money. money is the source of buying and selling, and we can use bitcoin through buying and selling.

[Mukulislam]

In my own point of view i consider bitcoin as a real money because you can use it to pay all your expenses at your homes and you can use it to buy the things you wanted in online shopping.Bitcoin can be called an investment, because by having bitcoin we can easily benefit when there is a rise in bitcoin prices in the world market.

[PokerFace3]

Bitcoin is not only money, but also a payment system. Bitcoin can not be compared with Fiat. It has many advantages. Just like the real money, you can buy some things like food, clothings or appliances using bitcoin.Bitcoin nowadays has a very helpful hand of real money.

Yes of course one could consider the bitcoins as money indeed. This is quite a different concept that you need to convert into a useable form before actually applied for the sake of your personal indeed. The bitcoins in their original form are not acceptable but once converted into the fiats, they are as easy to use as any other currency.

[johny.valencia2]

yes bitcoin is money,it is cryptocurrency and is an online currency which is also used for buying products.so bitcoin is a type of money.

[Altas]

In my own point of view i consider bitcoin as a real money because you can use it to pay all your expenses at your homes and you can use it to buy the things you wanted in online shopping.Bitcoin can be called an investment, because by having bitcoin we can easily benefit when there is a rise in bitcoin prices in the world market.

I'm not that sure, but this is getting used as a payment source and also it has got more acceptance on online stores. Maybe in future it will be found around every store same as the card acceptance at present. Importantly few give consideration as real money, whereas most others prioritize for several other wealth making needs.

[evgeniyosda]

Cash performs a lot of features. They are utilised not only as payment. For normal people, they are considered only as payment. For the economic system of the region - this is an essential tool. Bitcoin does not have the features of supporting the economic climate. Consequently, it can not be named full-fledged cash in the perception that exists now

[bebejhen]

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not regulated by any country and / or institution. Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be sent over the internet. bitcoin value far exceeds the value of the world's currency ,,

This one is the closest answer in what bitcoin really is. Yes it is digital currency and not yet turn into paper. I hope soon so that we can easily hold them. I do believed that it is not yet a money until you turn it into cash.

[fiulpro]

What I feel is that the fact that bitcoins are known as cryptocurrency that is = crypto + currency,
 
Crypto by definition means concealed

Currency is money in genral sense.

Thus bitcoins can be called concealed currency...or concealed money.
Meaning bitcoins exists to store the value of currency or money like gold or any other commodity.
Thus its not money directly... But yes its something that stores the money within.

[aldrian09]

Yes bitcoin is money for me I use it as a payment for my internet bill and buy load for my cellphone that's the only way I can spend my bitcoin using it. I can't use it as of now to pay in restaurant and in malls but I can always convert my hard earned bitcoin into fiat if I really want to use it, so yeah bitcoin is money for me.

[bitcoinsocial09]

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.

[links omitted]
[/list]

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?

As for me, yes bitcoin is money. Because people uses it as a payment for their internet bills and they also buy load. That's one of the ways people can spend their bitcoins. Bitcoin is money because you can also convert it or cash out bitcoin for it to become a money and then also spend it in the local stores near you.

[yvesp110]

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.

[links omitted]
[/list]

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?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows its users to shop without revealing their true identity

Yes, bitcoin is not owned by anyone. It is truly decentralized in nature and only exchanges are centralized one. It has the feature of keeping the holder unknown, this is the only reason why it is greatly misused in deep and dark web. However, good people use it for right reasons. Bitcoin  is the digital gold and future of the currency. We cannot deny it and even if we do, the truth won't change.

[yamortsac]

For me it's yes, because as per definition of money is something that accepted as medium of exchange and use to pay for good and services and to pay people for their work as what bitcoins do, so it is money.
Just my opinion..

[Barbarian]

What if I can’t fully wrap my brain around cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether?

Yes bitcoin is money which exist virtually in your digital wallets. People are using bitcoins for sale/purchase of products online from all over the world. Traders use this money for making huge profits in the digital world while investors invest maximum in this crypto currency for long term benefits.

No one put all its funds into Bitcoin, therefore the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market do not have definition maximum as your said . Maybe, only crazy boy put all his funds into an asset still unknown value and unstable, even it can be disappear in someday.

I think many persons put all their money in bitcoin, it is incorrect, you bet but they have a blind fate on bitcoin and at this point bitcoin has not disappointed and I do not see a reason for bitcoin to not keep up the good results that it had so far.

[Jembut Ireng]

I think is better than money, with bitcoin we can do more things than money, and the most important is profit because its value or price keeps rising if we compare with saving bank.

[Bellator]

What I feel is that the fact that bitcoins are known as cryptocurrency that is = crypto + currency,
 
Crypto by definition means concealed

Currency is money in genral sense.

Thus bitcoins can be called concealed currency...or concealed money.
Meaning bitcoins exists to store the value of currency or money like gold or any other commodity.
Thus its not money directly... But yes its something that stores the money within.

For me bitcoin is money because money itself is a medium of exchange of all things its your asset to buy something, same on bitcoin it is a kind of money a digital money that can buy things through a digital transaction there are lot of online store that are already accept bitcoin as payment so therefore bitcoin is a money.

[fanbeila]

Definitely,bitcoin is a new kind of money.Even most of the countries are still confused whether bitcoin is a currency,commodity or an asset.That's why,most of them have not legalized bitcoin yet.

Bitcoin was created as a decentralized currency by satoshi.People too treated it only as a currency in its earlier stage.But when its price started to increase rapidly,people just changed their stand and started to treat bitcoin as a digital asset which could give very huge returns in a small duration of time.

In future too,bitcoin would be mostly used as a digital asset.

[Pandacomel]

I think Bitcoin is not money but it is digital payment system.But the bitcoins can changes to money.The prices also expensives and valueable eventhough it look like small amount. 1Btc cost 4641 in dollars money.

[Barbarian]

I think is better than money, with bitcoin we can do more things than money, and the most important is profit because its value or price keeps rising if we compare with saving bank.

In theory money should do that as well, if you look around that is precisely what gold does, it tracks inflation not perfectly but it does, however fiat money does nothing but to lose value over time this is why I think that bitcoin will be the eventual winner in this battle against fiat.