[2017-11-02] Bitcoin is a commodity, not a currency, Allianz's Mohamed El-Erian

[Terraformer]

-Bitcoin has attracted a lot of interest, but it has not achieved the kind of stability a currency should, Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian said
-That makes the cryptocurrency more of a commodity than a currency, he added

Bitcoin, despite the large amount of interest it has attracted, has not achieved the kind of stability a currency should possess, Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian said, adding that he agrees with the notion that the cryptocurrency is more of a commodity.

"A currency serves as a predictable store of value, and serves as a medium of exchange that's pretty stable in value as well — bitcoins aren't that there yet, they're still trying to find stability so it's more of a commodity than it's a currency," he told CNBC on Thursday during the 2017 Barclays Asia Forum in Singapore.

Last month, El-Erian said bitcoin's value should be half of the $4,000 it was fetching. Since then, the cryptocurrency has surged past $6,000, representing a rally of over 500 percent this year.

Cryptocurrencies in general are getting more attention from government and large organizations, with bitcoin seeing the most debate among commentators and regulators across the world. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," while billionaire Peter Thiel said people are "underestimating" it, saying it has "great potential."

Bitcoin recently received a nod from CME, the world's largest futures exchange, which announced this week that it plans to launch bitcoin futures by the end of this year.

But El-Erian remained skeptical. He said those buying into bitcoin may be assuming that it will be widely adopted by institutions and central banks, but they could be wrong.

"My major concern over the long term is: Is the assumption in the pricing about adoption consistent with reality? That's the issue that investors should ask if they're holding bitcoins for a couple of months," he said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/02/allianz-chief-economic-advisor-mohamed-el-erian-on-bitcoin-at-barclays-asia-forum.html

[Spaffin]

Stupid statement. Bitcoin, even in principle, can not be considered as a commodity, because it does not possess the consumer properties of the goods. Any product can be used either in connection with its useful physical qualities, or for other similar purposes. As a commodity, bitcoin has no value. At the same time, bitcoin is valued as a measure of value and a means of storing value, which is not a sign of a commodity, but only a sign of money.

[marckenigsberg]

I don't agree.
Commodity can be a store of value in fact often is.
Look at gold.
Gold is not money today.
The thing about bitcoin is that it is both at the same time.
In a way that nothing else is.

[8270thNinja]

Lol, Say whatever you want to say Mohamed El-Erian, Maybe he didn't even read the information about Bitcoin and the Whitepaper of Bitcoin, Bitcoin is a cryptoCURRENCY and will be used as a Digital Money / Digital Currency / CryptoCurrency. Stability of Bitcoin would still not be achievable as of now, as we can see the 21 Million coin is not yet fully mined, Stability of This Coin is possibly achievable after mining all of the coins.

[Gotottack]

-Bitcoin has attracted a lot of interest, but it has not achieved the kind of stability a currency should, Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian said
-That makes the cryptocurrency more of a commodity than a currency, he added

Bitcoin, despite the large amount of interest it has attracted, has not achieved the kind of stability a currency should possess, Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian said, adding that he agrees with the notion that the cryptocurrency is more of a commodity.

"A currency serves as a predictable store of value, and serves as a medium of exchange that's pretty stable in value as well — bitcoins aren't that there yet, they're still trying to find stability so it's more of a commodity than it's a currency," he told CNBC on Thursday during the 2017 Barclays Asia Forum in Singapore.

Last month, El-Erian said bitcoin's value should be half of the $4,000 it was fetching. Since then, the cryptocurrency has surged past $6,000, representing a rally of over 500 percent this year.

Cryptocurrencies in general are getting more attention from government and large organizations, with bitcoin seeing the most debate among commentators and regulators across the world. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," while billionaire Peter Thiel said people are "underestimating" it, saying it has "great potential."

Bitcoin recently received a nod from CME, the world's largest futures exchange, which announced this week that it plans to launch bitcoin futures by the end of this year.

But El-Erian remained skeptical. He said those buying into bitcoin may be assuming that it will be widely adopted by institutions and central banks, but they could be wrong.

"My major concern over the long term is: Is the assumption in the pricing about adoption consistent with reality? That's the issue that investors should ask if they're holding bitcoins for a couple of months," he said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/02/allianz-chief-economic-advisor-mohamed-el-erian-on-bitcoin-at-barclays-asia-forum.html

Well, as for me, I think Bitcoins are neither currency nor commodity. It is not a currency because it has not passed certain legal requirements that are under the direct control of central banks worldwide. On the contrary, it is not a commodity because it is easily and readily converted to fiat without having to sell them. The key word is readily; meaning, it has direct conversion to fiat and is available to be converted at any time you wish for it to be converted.

[Kronos21]

Lol, Say whatever you want to say Mohamed El-Erian, Maybe he didn't even read the information about Bitcoin and the Whitepaper of Bitcoin, Bitcoin is a cryptoCURRENCY and will be used as a Digital Money / Digital Currency / CryptoCurrency. Stability of Bitcoin would still not be achievable as of now, as we can see the 21 Million coin is not yet fully mined, Stability of This Coin is possibly achievable after mining all of the coins.

The stability of bitcoin will not even when all the coins are mined. The main reason for this volatility is that bitcoin is only used for trading on the exchange. Speculators have a large supply of coins and can easily destabilize the market. When bitcoin will be used for the purchase of goods will make it more difficult.

[8270thNinja]

Lol, Say whatever you want to say Mohamed El-Erian, Maybe he didn't even read the information about Bitcoin and the Whitepaper of Bitcoin, Bitcoin is a cryptoCURRENCY and will be used as a Digital Money / Digital Currency / CryptoCurrency. Stability of Bitcoin would still not be achievable as of now, as we can see the 21 Million coin is not yet fully mined, Stability of This Coin is possibly achievable after mining all of the coins.

The stability of bitcoin will not even when all the coins are mined. The main reason for this volatility is that bitcoin is only used for trading on the exchange. Speculators have a large supply of coins and can easily destabilize the market. When bitcoin will be used for the purchase of goods will make it more difficult.

I said "possibly after the mining of all coins" the possibility is high. Still we cannot say what will happen on the future but as for my opinion, I really think that the stability will be achievable after mining the 21 million coins, it may not perfect , it may still volatile but the stability is there.

[iamTom123]

Bitcoin, despite the large amount of interest it has attracted, has not achieved the kind of stability a currency should possess.

Why? Because he wanted to control the price of Bitcoin to his own advantage? I could not understand why some press people have the tendency to be listening to people big and small who do not possess the kind of expertise they should be having before opening their mouth. These people are just riding on the Bitcoin bandwagon...just to have anything to say they will burst them in front of the supposed to be fair media.

Had Bitcoin got into a very stable value then it would not be attracting the kind of attention it is getting today because it would just be another currency albeit in digital form. Whether we like it or not, volatility has been playing a big role for Bitcoin's popularity and that is just fine for now because Bitcoin is still young (just like a teenager with full of energy and dreams). We have to give more time for Bitcoin to mature because it would slowly get into the plateau level and that is where it should be functioning more as a currency rather than just a store of value.

There are so many people who failed to understand how things are moving with cryptocurrency. There is nothing in here...time is of the essence. And we have people who are just spewing scraps. Look, these people are definitely not the reason why we have Bitcoin today and thankfully otherwise the dream of Satoshi Nakamoto would have never come true.

[JLCoin]

I agree with this statement. After all, people buy kindle books, newspapers and books that have no tangible form. I feel as though a currency can only truly become a currency once it has been adopted by country as its standard mode of payment. Until it has full legal recognition, it is prospecting. The true nature of Bitcoin will only be understood in hindsight. No-one can no anything for certain at this point.

[DannaWonder]

The statement is correct, right now we really can't consider bitcoin as a currency but more likely a commodity or an asset that we can trade for a currency. There are only few establishment accepts bitcoin as a payment. And most of bitcoin's owner are converting bitcoin to a fiat first before using it for their expenses. So his statement is correct for now because bitcoin is not yet on the stage where it can be used as a currency.