Is Bitcoin money?

[simonbakla02]

Indeed it's money, but in a different way because of digital money. But bitcoin is precisely money.

[pxo.011]

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?

no its not a money but we can call it a crypto currencies,, in crypto currencies you can make and earn money but it depends on your effort patient and behavior, some of store accepting bitcoin as payment but we cannot say that the bitcoin is money bitcoin is a crypto currency.

[TheShire]

interesting article for newbies like me

Over the centuries, gold has been considered as an object of value by many different groups of people all over the world. It’s important to note that gold in itself has no value - it’s just a piece of shiny metal. Its value comes from the (somewhat perplexing) fact that everyone just agreed that it has value, and therefore it becomes valuable. The reason they chose gold versus other objects is important - gold has certain characteristics that make it a better ‘store of value’ (as it is commonly known) than other objects:
For one, it is rare, which means it has limited supply(there is only a certain amount of gold in the world - if it was too abundant everyone would have it and then it would have no value). It is malleable (it can be melted and made into smaller units i.e. coins, and importantly the per unit value doesn’t change when you break it into smaller pieces, unlike things like diamonds). It is stable and doesn’t degrade, it’s easy to recognise and very importantly, difficult to counterfeit.
As it turns out, Bitcoin has all of these same characteristics, and more. It has limited supply (only a specific amount of Bitcoin exists and will ever be produced). It can be made into smaller units without losing unit value (1 Bitcoin = 100,000,000 Satoshis - the smallest unit into which a Bitcoin can be broken down to, similar to the cents in a Dollar or pennies in a pound; this is also why one can buy less than one Bitcoin at a time). Its technology makes it very stable, it won’t degrade, and it’s impossible to counterfeit. On top of this, and unlike gold, you can move Bitcoin to any place on earth within minutes, no matter how big or small the amount. That’s why many people say that Bitcoin is not just digital gold, but a better version of gold.
On top of that, Bitcoin has value as a payment system in itself, which gives it even more value. The more people use Bitcoin for payments, the more valuable this system becomes. It’s a bit like buying shares in Visa and then using those shares to buy a coke at your local 7-11. Because you used the Visa shares to pay, Visa (the payment system) becomes more valuable, and Visa shares become worth more. In this way, the value of Bitcoin comes from both its gold-like characteristics as well as its payment system abilities.

[reyblack]

Bitcoin is indeed money. In fact, Global money ! 

And how can you say that? Since a lot of people are using bitcoin and been sending from country to country? Bitcoin may be used by a lot of people world wide but I don't think it can be described as a "Global money" or even money. Money are issued mostly by the government, it is used as the blood flow of one's country, without it, it will die and bitcoin, even without flowing in a country, will not affect the country unlike real money.

 





Bitcoin is a digital currency, if you used it to buy goods or something that you acquired or being sold unto you can be considered as money. If you buy by using cryptocurrency,  both the seller and the buyer come up as an exchange of benefits in which the seller gains and the consumer obtains can be called barter but the root of it is that it has a value, btc has a value it can be used as a money.

[Chime19]

bitcoin is money, job, investment and the future of money.
bitcoin make sending money very easy and all can get them btc

[jinxing]

Bitcoin and gold also have value in use but not exchange rates. Maybe one day bitcoin can be used as an exchange rate. With so many people enthusiastic with bitcoin, perhaps the government will one day validate bitcoin as an exchange rate. So I think the bitcoin money is the same as the exchange rate Both are the same can be used but bitcoin money can not be used directly.

[Dravenz]

Bitcoin is more than a system to store and transfer value from one person to another. Bitcoin is a protocol, a computer network, and much more.

[boboyboi]

i would say yes, when bitcoin pass into the medium exchage and convert into our local money, then bitcoin is really a money.

[Unicorn_Heart]

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 another mode of exchange wherein we can use it for payment of our monthly bills thur online such as water, electricity, telephone, insurance and many more, wihout any hassle and fee of charge.
We can use it in when we buy in a participating store that accepts Bitcoin as payment. This is being done thru fund transfer via cellphone to cellphone.
Most specially, I want to use Bitcoin in trading so that I can earn additional income for my future.
This is the best  time to buy because the price is still low and then hold it until the price increases.

[Jose Mourinho]

It's hard to say bitcoin is money because bitcoin uses a decentralized system so no one can control, bitcoin is more deserved to be said as an asset or commodity.

[kajing]

Basically its a money  because we can exchange it for goods, as a payment also.. though we cant see it..:-)

[Shishimanu]

Yes it's another kinds of Bitcoin is the digital currency.Which is a currency as like money.So Bitcoin is also money

[neite99]

In my opinion money is considered something that can be used in every day transaction which can be traded easily in everywhere and everyplace, so btc is not money yet

[gvnsrbtc]

Not for now. It's just an investment instrument. But in future, it will be! Only problem is high transaction fees. When this problem solved there's no barrier to use it as money.

[yourialfa]

For me, bitcoin is money but not in physical form like fiat that we can actually hold or carry. This is money because we can buy goods and make bitcoin as our payment. But now the bitcoin transaction is so dense that it makes it slow.

[Akupuniard]

Bitcoins is money because it have all fiat features and even more benefits like anonymity and decentralization. Bitcoin is also safe and fast way to pay and buy anything.

[durakan]

 There needs to be a finite supply so that the currency maintains its value. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins, no person can create more bitcoins. This is a rule which is baked into the bitcoin network, and has a very high degree of security. The vast majority of the people securing the bitcoin network would have to agree on a change to the network rules for them to change, this is highly unlikely to happen given they would agree to change the fundamentals of the network.

[Enialis]

This is an open and shut case; digital currency does not wear, tear or break. However, you can buy some physical items which have bitcoin addresses stored on them, for more information see opendime and casascius coins.

[Karpatyse]

Is each bitcoin is the same as each other bitcoin? Bitcoin has fungibility problems because technically transactions are traceable. When you make a bitcoin transaction, the coins you spend from your wallet to another wallet have a traceable history back to the point where those coins were mined from the network. If certain services are deemed unfavorable, the history of coins moving through wallets which are associated with unfavorable services could be marked. Therefore in the future some coins could be seen as more valuable because they are clear, meaning they have not been dirtied by touching wallets of unfavorable services. At the current state of the network, bitcoin has fungibility issues, this is a problem which needs to be solved in order to make any bitcoin as valuable as any other bitcoin.

[Yunkathu]

I think yess Bitcoin may be the best form of money we have ever used.