Bitcoin is asset, not currency.

[ICO Lancer]

National Bank of Israel officially announced that the Bitcoin is not currency but asset. I think that most countries will follow the example. what do you think?

[HostiletermitE]

Can I know what difference it makes? Does Bitcoin lose its value if it is known as an asset?

[BitcoinHodler]

why did you create this misleading title? when you are quoting someone you should include the name of the source.

and who cares what a National Bank of some place is saying about what bitcoin is. they are defining it as an asset so that they can deal with it easier. most of the times it is a matter of taxation since they can't exactly tax a currency!

what matters is how people are going to use bitcoin and so far it has been a currency apart from last 2 months and hopefully this changes back to normal low fee transactions soon too.

[doaremon]

To me Bitcoin is both currency and asset.
If we take it as a currency then it is easy to trade. Bitcoin can easily be transferred from one place to another. On the other hand if we take as asset then it's value is rising day by day. So, as an asset it is a good one. So to me Bitcoin is both

[MediChain]

It depends on how people use it.

It can be used in both ways but it seems that people are mostly using it as an asset rather than a currency for now.

[cryptonoob312]

Totally agree. Bitcoin is too slow, too expensive and doesn't support smart contracts to be a currency. It's definitely a good asset that costs a lot and is relatively stable. To become a currency crypto needs to be accepted almost everywhere, be easy to use and earn. Thus there is hardly any genuine cryptoCURRENCY.

[DeepBoost]

Considering Bitcoin as a currency is against National Bank's interests. Bank does not need such strong competitor as Bitcoin, because of its "cripto" nature. People will surely avoid taxes by using BTC and erase traces of money tranfers while Israel is under terrorist threat. Situation there is very different compare to Japan.
Besides Bitcoin's fees dont let us to use it as a currency in common sense.

[penig]

what matters is how people are going to use bitcoin and so far it has been a currency apart from last 2 months and hopefully this changes back to normal low fee transactions soon too.

Last two months? What happened in only the last two months that didnt before?  Certainly holding Bitcoin, speculative trading have been going on since years ago.  What hasn't happened much is use as currency to buy goods and services, i dont know the amounts, but i'd bet a Dogecoin less than single digit proportion of Bitcoin transactions have been for buying something.

Its an asset, the dreams of Satoshi disappeared aloooong time ago.

[@alaji]

Call bitcoin what ever names either currency or asset or properties and so on, it does not change its value. All we need is continues appreciation to enable us become a millionaire one day.  

[zais]

National Bank of Israel officially announced that the Bitcoin is not currency but asset. I think that most countries will follow the example. what do you think?

Bitcoin is Not a Currency. How will a currency function as a "stable" Value Store? If the currency serves as a stable value keeper, then the cause of inflation will occur naturally. Anything that can be a "store of value", must be able to ensure that its value is feasible and can last a lifetime. Comparable to long-term purchasing power.

[BitcoinSupremo]

Bitcoin does both. Some people exchange it to cash or do trading with it in order to make more cash, in this example Bitcoin is serving as a currency. If you hold it for a long time, you keep it as a store of value, in the long run it can have an impact in changing your life for good, in this case is serving as an asset. So bitcoin can be both money and asset.

[Wonder_woman]

National Bank of Israel officially announced that the Bitcoin is not currency but asset. I think that most countries will follow the example. what do you think?

On my own opinion I am agree with the National Bank of Israel because as we know most people are only using bitcoin for trading,  investment, or mining as that is the nature of an asset.  You can not really say that it is a currency because we are not using the bitcoin to buy goods directly. 

[Newboybb]

Because the BTC transfer fee is too high at the moment, it may be difficult to use as a currency, but as an asset, I think it is something like a large collection.

[LoyceV]

Let me start by adding a source to this thread: Bank of Israel: Cryptocurrencies Are Assets Not Currencies, so I can do some selective quoting:

Addressing a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee yesterday, Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, said, "Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies are not a currency, and are not considered foreign currency."

She quite literally says currencies are not a currency.

But that's just the opinion of a central employee. Bitcoin is designed to be electronic cash, and it's designed to be independend of any banker's opinion.

[BrewMaster]

the banks and the government always want to call bitcoin something other than a currency. they will do anything they can to prevent bitcoin from being a currency because if that happens, their business and livelihood will be threatened unless they act fast and adapt to the new situation and the world with a decentralized cryptocurrency out of their control.

[BlackPanda]

National Bank of Israel officially announced that the Bitcoin is not currency but asset. I think that most countries will follow the example. what do you think?

I do not think that's the real meaning of Bitcoin. The initial purpose of the creation of bitcoin is to be used as a currency, but now most people see opportunities and consider Bitcoin as an asset if invested then be able to generate profits. For me Bitcoin remains a currency, Bitcoin has a valuable value and can be used to conduct financial transactions. Bank of Israel too quick a decision as Bitcoin is used and developed by everyone in the world. Currently Bitcoin has become a necessity of many people.

[SastraID]

its depends how people use it but for me, bitcoin is asset and cryptocurrency
both 

[Kprawn]

Let me start by adding a source to this thread: Bank of Israel: Cryptocurrencies Are Assets Not Currencies, so I can do some selective quoting:

Addressing a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee yesterday, Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, said, "Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies are not a currency, and are not considered foreign currency."

She quite literally says currencies are not a currency.

But that's just the opinion of a central employee. Bitcoin is designed to be electronic cash, and it's designed to be independend of any banker's opinion.

Sure, but for tax purposes this is important to make a distinction between the two definitions. If Bitcoin is a currency, VAT

will come into play, but if it is defined as a Commodity... then Capital Gains will come into play. The government should

also define it for merchants to know if they can accept it as a currency. {for the auditing of their books}  

[orkoso]

Can I know what difference it makes? Does Bitcoin lose its value if it is known as an asset?

It does make a huge different for legal and taxing purposes. What the bank has done is basically impose the same taxes on Bitcoin than any other asset. Currencies have a different legal regulation in most nations and taxes for gains are different.

[b3llsf1l3s]

National Bank of Israel officially announced that the Bitcoin is not currency but asset. I think that most countries will follow the example. what do you think?

yes, that's what I think all along, bitcoin for me is just an asset, and just like any other assets. bitcoin is a better form, because this asset is combined with a very modern technology that is blockchain technology