[2017-10-04] Former Bundesbank Chief: Bitcoin Doesn't Meet Full Def. of a Curren

[ivanpoldark]

The chairman of Swiss banking giant UBS doesn't believe that bitcoin meets the full definition of a currency, according to new statements.

Axel Weber, who previously served as head of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, made the remarks during an event in Zürich earlier today, according to Reuters.

After noting that his skepticism toward the cryptocurrency "probably comes from my background as a central banker," Weber argued that in spite of arguments to the contrary, bitcoin only partially satisfies the common definition of a currency.

He told event attendees:

    "The important function of a currency is, it’s a means of payment, it has to be generally accepted, it has to be a store of value and it’s a transaction currency. Bitcoin is only a transaction currency."

Weber reportedly criticized the cryptocurrency market back in late 2015, according to a report at the time from City A.M. He is said to have remarked that the bitcoin model is set to fail "because there is no lender of last resort – there will always be boom and bust."

The UBS chairman becomes the latest figure from a major financial institution to weigh in on the topic of cryptocurrencies. Just yesterday, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, took to Twitter to offer an open (if not neutral) perspective on bitcoin.

https://www.coindesk.com/former-bundesbank-chief-bitcoin-doesnt-meet-full-definition-currency/

[darkangel11]

The important function of a currency is, it’s a means of payment, it has to be generally accepted, it has to be a store of value and it’s a transaction currency. Bitcoin is only a transaction currency." LOL 

By this terms some small worthless currencies used by African countries are also not currencies, even though they are being accepted and recognized in the banking system around the world.
Bitcoin is on its way to becoming generally accepted, the difference is that nobody is forcing people to accept it, it's going to be at their own free will, while fiat was imposed on them by their government.
Also, tell all those people who held BTC since 2010 and watched its price grow with each coming year that it's not a store of value!

[Raxitto]

Axel Weber, current president of UBS AG, a private bank based in Basel and Zurich, has stated that Bitcoin does not comply with all guidelines to be considered a currency.
Weber, formerly director of Germany's main bank, the Bundesbank, made the remark during an event held in Zurich. The economist stressed that his skepticism towards the crypto-coins comes from his experience leading a Central Bank, and that despite the voices that argue to the contrary, Bitcoin only complies with some guidelines to be considered a currency.

[jseverson]

It doesn't have to fit into any definition. It is the first of its kind after all. Why would a revolutionary technology have to fit into some old definition?

After noting that his skepticism toward the cryptocurrency "probably comes from my background as a central banker," Weber argued that in spite of arguments to the contrary, bitcoin only partially satisfies the common definition of a currency.

In other words, "I see this as a threat to me. Decentralization is bad (for us bankers), kids."

"The important function of a currency is, it’s a means of payment, it has to be generally accepted, it has to be a store of value and it’s a transaction currency. Bitcoin is only a transaction currency."

It is a means of payment, it's beginning to be generally accepted, it's currently primarily being used as a store of value, and it's a transaction currency. I don't know, but it seems to me that Bitcoin fits his definition of currency pretty well.

[hatshepsut93]

It's not up to experts, bankers and economists to decide what is currency and what is not because people don't ask their opinion before they decide to use Bitcoin and mass adoption is what's really important here. And Bitcoin already has its own ecosystem, there are markets and services that are 100% Bitcoin and the amount of money flowing in this economy is worth billions of USD, so Bitcoin is actually stronger than some tiny national currencies.