Is bitcoin a form of gambling?

[ashaw596]

It's a gambling, the same way investing on the stockmarket, starting your own business, or doing anything in life is a gamble.

[CanadianGuy]

It's a gambling, the same way investing on the stockmarket, starting your own business, or doing anything in life is a gamble.

As well as crossing the street. 

[johnyj]

At a higher abstraction level, even if you don't gamble, that decision itself is gambling, since you are betting that you will get better result when you are not gambling, and that decision is not always true Holding fiat in a cyprus bank account is such an example

Gambling normaly shifts value between players, no new value will be created, but in bitcoin every day new values are generated, both coins and services

[owsleybeatsbigcartel]

In traditional slots you pay a coin, and if a certain sequence comes up, you get some winnings.  I think everyone will agree that's a form of gambling.

In bitcoin, to create coins, you pay some electricity, and if a sequence of 0's comes up, you win some bitcoins.

Is this aspect a form of gambling?

And if so, is that illegal in the U.S.?

no it's problem solving ~ gambling with nu-coins thats a diff story!~imho

[owsleybeatsbigcartel]

It's not gambling because you can simply calculate the outcome yourself. There is no chance or gambling or betting or luck factor involved whatsoever. Completely different from slot machines in casinos.

But it's the actual calculation you're paying electricity for.

And what is legal or illegal in the U.S. doesn't matter, because Bitcoin is not related to the U.S. in any way. It would be just as relevant as asking if it's illegal in Iran or North Korea. It might be, but nobody cares

lets give ALL the crytos to OPEC ...no? hehe

[b!z]

No bet means no gamble.

When mining bitcoins there is no bet or stake. Instead, a mathematical problem is solved and this earns a monetary reward.

Isn't the bet your electricity?

but i don't think mining is gambling

[rudrigorc2]

mining is a lottery, but a fair one.

[BitAddict]

by holding onto fiat currency, you are gambling as well.  It could go up or down.

Not really... is worse, always goes down

[Luciddd]

Isn't life a form of gambling?

[nottm28]

yep - I reckon it's a gamble

[Trongersoll]

is bitcoin gambling? not in the traditional sense, but for many, it is kind of a game. It is a competition to get a bigger piece of the pie. Many are looking for an angle. Today i was on TI.com trying to decide if DSPs might have a chance. I decided not. This has been going on long enough that just about everything has been tried, looked at. But, we all like to think that we might come up with something different that works. Who knows, someone might. So we all keep trying, we keep mining, turning a blind eye to the inevitable.

[hakis1010]

I guess buying gold is consider as gambling as well?

[wireless1889]

I think Bitcoin is not gambling at all because investing bitcoin can be foreseen and can be predicted on what will happen next on how the value and price of Bitcoin behaves as years pass by. In gambling you get 50-50 percent chance of getting outcomes that means you will either lose or win. In investing into Bitcoin you just need the right actions to gain profit, You lose profit or you gain profit, In gambling you lose it all. In bitcoin investing your money just go down but you don't lose it all.

[Corcoran]

I do not see in bitcoin is a gambling place. Because I think bitcoin is a place where people can do business

[paulo29]

Bitcoin as a form of gambling, well at some points i would consider it as a gambling since there is a risk factor involve simply because bitcoin is very volatile and the price is undetermined and nobody knows when the price will increase or decrease, so in the essence of gambling definition it is indeed a gambling process.  As to bitcoin is illegal, well since it is decentralized,who cares to tell that this is legal or illegal, since no government policies governing on it. For as long as you did not do anything or using the bitcoin for illegal purpose then you are not violating laws that makes it illegal then it is ok.

[ambisyon]

I don't consider that bitcoin is a form of gambling and for me it is an investment where you are hopeful to earn profit from it. I also believe that it depends on how people would interpret when they put investment with bitcoin because of the risk involve which others are looking it as gambling since it's either you can earn profit or lose it. However, I am seeing much more on bitcoin to earn profit than losing your investment and this involves on how one's handle the situation.

[bcni]

It's a gambling, the same way investing on the stockmarket, starting your own business, or doing anything in life is a gamble.

Most large bitcoin participants admitted that Bitcoin is a bubble, but they also believe that they can leave before the crash because they have already fulfilled the money far beyond their input. Regardless of the number of Bitcoin, or Bitcoin's underlying technology blockchain, Bitcoin's skyrocketing growth is a gamble!

[Moneypham5]

The price of bitcoin is determined by the supply and demand from time to time. As the number of people interested in bitcoin in particular and other bitcoins in general increased, so prices increased rapidly, fluctuations with large amplitude attracted more and more people to try luck in the fever. But this is also the land of greed for organizations and individuals to form fraudulent activities. Due to high demand, this is more like a form of speculation than gambling.

[dhoon5]

Bitcoin is not gambling. Bitcoin is a kind of digital currency investment. With the development of digital currency, Bitcoin investment will be more valuable. Therefore, bitcoin investment is an era-based monetary financial investment.

[mix max]

I didn't see it as a form of gambling, yet it is a high risk investment prediction. It can be calculated and there are fundamental and technical analysis, gambling you rely on your luck.