Biggest misconception in Bitcoin

[sublime5447]

The biggest misconception is that it is currency... it's not.

I have been harping on this for a while now, but here it is from the owner of  second largest exchange BTC-china.

 

"China has been known as a nation of savers, who are always saving for a rainy day,” says Lee.  ”Bitcoin is a digital asset, like real estate, gold, or stock. It is just one more option now. With Bitcoin hard-coded to be limited, it’s like a collectible.”"

It isnt currency.
It is a digital collectible.

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[JamesMorton]

Bitcoin is alot, and its ALSO a collectible.
Now just look what people pay for magic cards or baseball cards, stamps, old hardware, whatever, if its rare, there are people "hoarding" it

[Mlchel]

More and more companies are adopting bitcoin. Just a matter of time before it becomes a good currency.

[sublime5447]

Bitcoin is alot, and its ALSO a collectible.
Now just look what people pay for magic cards or baseball cards, stamps, old hardware, whatever, if its rare, there are people "hoarding" it

Currency= a system of money

Money = store of value, medium of exchange, and UNIT of account.

Unit's are definable in objective terms and are a constant. Bitcoin is not a UNIT so it is not a UNIT of account.

It isn't currency.

[C. Bergmann]

The reason Bitcoin has become an asset was that it is the better currency

[freethink2013]

hoping my cabbagepatchdolls4bitcoin.com takes off. I was really burnt badly on beaniebaby4bitcoins.com scam tbh

[Timo Y]

It's not a currency in the same way that email is not mail and html is not text.

Right now most people don't even realize that the basic "currency" function is just a small subset of things that Bitcoin can do.  Once distributed contracts take off,  things are going to get really interesting.  There is nothing even remotely comparable in existence right now. No currency, no commodity, no collectible.

The biggest misconception in Bitcoin is that is fits into some historical asset class.  The truth is that is has created a whole new asset class of its own.

[OneMoreHuman]

It's not a currency in the same way that email is not mail and html is not text.

Right now most people don't even realize that the basic "currency" function is just a small subset of things that Bitcoin can do.  Once distributed contracts take off,  things are going to get really interesting.  There is nothing even remotely comparable in existence right now. No currency, no commodity, no collectible.

The biggest misconception in Bitcoin is that is fits into some historical asset class.  The truth is that is has created a whole new asset class of its own.

+1

Not to mention all the special things that altcoins can do / will be able to do.

[sublime5447]

Bitcoin: store of value.

Yes store of value and medium of exchange just like a baseball card.

Stop calling it currency 

[beetcoin]

people use it to buy beer or a laptop... why can't we call it a bit of both?

[freequant]

I thought it was already universally agreed that Bitcoins are digital gizmos

[sublime5447]

Bitcoin: store of value.

Yes store of value and medium of exchange just like a baseball card.

Stop calling it currency 

I'm shocked. You've always argued with me that it isn't a store of value!

I think currency will have to be redefined thanks to Bitcoin.

Real's gunna change.

Na I said it doesnt make sense as a store of value. A cell phone is a store of value, but every tech is guaranteed to fall in the wake of a new better tech. 

[sublime5447]

Bitcoin: store of value.

Yes store of value and medium of exchange just like a baseball card.

Except more durable, more fungible, more divisible, more easily transportable, harder to counterfeit...

Stop calling it currency 

What's it matter, anyway?

Because if you can realize that bitcoin is not currency because it is not a UNIT then you can realize that the US dollar is not currency because it is not a UNIT.

That is what Ron Paul is really asking Ben when he asks can you define a dollar for me. He is really asking what is the UNIT called a dollar equal too?

[sublime5447]

A cell phone is a store of value, but every tech is guaranteed to fall in the wake of a new better tech. 

A cell phone is not a store of value... quite the opposite, it starts losing value the moment it is created.

I didnt say it was a good store of value.

[sublime5447]

Nintendo games were not a good store of value either, but wait another 100 years and see how much people are willing to pay for a contra game.   

[jeppe]

In my opinion, I see Bitcoin as both a stock and a currency. But at the moment i see it as a stock, as who would buy something with an asset that is increasing in value when you could use something stable like fiat to buy the goods. Later when Bitcoin stabelises i will see it as a currency  

[sublime5447]

Nintendo games were not a good store of value either, but wait another 100 years and see how much people are willing to pay for a contra game.   

It's hard to talk to someone who is intentionally all over the place.

People collect things for nostalgia reasons. Or because it was made better in the past. Or because a famous person used it.

Bitcoins are not collector's items.

Fine call them assets.. I dont care what you call them.. The point is they are not currency.

[sublime5447]

Nintendo games were not a good store of value either, but wait another 100 years and see how much people are willing to pay for a contra game.   

It's hard to talk to someone who is intentionally all over the place.

People collect things for nostalgia reasons. Or because it was made better in the past. Or because a famous person used it.

Bitcoins are not collector's items.

The owner of the second largest soon to be the largest exchange would disagree.

[sublime5447]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/08/from-walmart-to-bitcoin-the-ceo-behind-the-chinese-exchange-sending-bitcoin-to-new-highs/?fb_action_ids=194121050772391&fb_action_types=forbessocial%3Acomment&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%221941210



"China has been known as a nation of savers, who are always saving for a rainy day,” says Lee.  ”Bitcoin is a digital asset, like real estate, gold, or stock. It is just one more option now. With Bitcoin hard-coded to be limited, it’s like a collectible.”"

[sublime5447]

What's it matter, anyway?

Because if you can realize that bitcoin is not currency because it is not a UNIT then you can realize that the US dollar is not currency because it is not a UNIT.

That is what Ron Paul is really asking Ben when he asks can you define a dollar for me. He is really asking what is the UNIT called a dollar equal too?

So, based on the Ron Paul reference, I assume you're making some political argument? Comparing it to the US dollar and saying that isn't currency either doesn't provide me any more information about why it matters whether or not bitcoin is a currency (though I guess it does eliminate a lot of potential reasons - you're obviously not using the term "currency" in any standard sense).

Anyway, now that I see where you're coming from given that you say the US dollar is not a UNIT...

Unit's are definable in objective terms and are a constant. Bitcoin is not a UNIT so it is not a UNIT of account.

How are bitcoins not definable in objective terms (the satoshi client) and constant (there are 21 million of them, of which ~12 million have been discovered).

Bitcoins are just as constant as gold. Moreso, in fact, if you count nuclear transmutation. Is that what the Ron Paul reference was getting at? You think gold is a currency and a unit but dollar bills and bitcoins aren't?

You cant define things in terms of themselves. When you say bitcoin is x about of satoshi it is like defining an inch as a millionth of an inch