Bitcoin is 'better than currency'

[Jcabudx]

A handful of top investors have weighed in on the bitcoin craze, with some warning to avoid it "like the plague" and others saying it's OK to invest in if you're prepared to lose that money.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates hasn't been too vocal on the subject lately, but he has expressed a cautiously positive opinion in the past.

"Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be," the self-made billionaire told Bloomberg in 2014. "Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don't have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient."

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/bill-gates-in-2014-bitcoin-is-better-than-currency.html

[Wheelige]

I don't think that you can use such a blanket statement as 'better than currency'. I guess if you are taking points from different contexts then weighing up, thats fine, but if you break it down into specific scenarios it allows you to properly compare bitcoin to 'currency' (whether bitcoin is currency is another argument for another rant).

In a situation where you need to send $1000 across the world, from USD to AUD, then bitcoin could hands down be better (so long as both receiver and sender have reliable exchanges and are able to withdraw to fiat easily). International money transfers attract huge fees and can take time where as bitcoin is fast (will be faster with future scaling) and can be cost effective.

Now if i'm trying to buy my morning coffee this is where bitcoin is not 'better than currency'. A fee of $2.50 per transaction (my understanding of fee at time of writing) and a non-instantaneous transaction are major draw backs compared to handing over a few pieces of shrapnel or swiping a card.

Context is huge in arguments like this and should not be ignored. I like the idea of living in a world where bitcoin edges out fiat in all situations but at the moment we just arent there yet.

[roadwell890]

I only store BTC for savings purposes
not much, probably only 5% of my total assets
I also usually use BTC to buy articles and

[BitNinja2017]

Oneday Cryptocurrencies will be a better form of asset class than money itself.

That is why you should invest more than 5% of your total assets. Because everything else in the economy is currently in a big bubble. including Housing Markets

[Lovecove]

As I said in another thread, Bitcoin is not tied to any government or corporation, so it's got that benefit of being free and unlimited.

But at the same time, it has that as a weakness. Currencies backed by countries have a little bit more foundation because all the exports/imports and economics of that country can back that currency. The value of the country becomes the value of the currency.

But bitcoin's main value derives from its decentralization and loose financial limitations. It's literally backed by miners. It's not tied to tangible matters, like oil or a country's well-being.

So I'd say that currencies are stronger than bitcoin in that sense. They have more backing.

But in other aspects, bitcoin is definitely superior. If you think about how it can be used to instantaneously send money anywhere to anyone in the world... coupled with the fact that you can buy anything at the store with a swipe of your phone... all with bitcoin...

Then I could say bitcoin is certainly superior.

[cryptoalfs76]

A handful of top investors have weighed in on the bitcoin craze, with some warning to avoid it "like the plague" and others saying it's OK to invest in if you're prepared to lose that money.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates hasn't been too vocal on the subject lately, but he has expressed a cautiously positive opinion in the past.

"Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be," the self-made billionaire told Bloomberg in 2014. "Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don't have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient."

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/19/bill-gates-in-2014-bitcoin-is-better-than-currency.html

Actually this statement of bill gates is over exaggerating,because the real truth is that traditional currency,is always leads in the  market and very convenient to use,because digital currency is only an alternator of fiat  in terms of any kind of transaction in the market.actually in real talks until cryptocurrency will not become legalize globally,the traditional currency is the  main source of  our currency system.