Why do people claim cryptocurrencies aren’t an asset?

[worldofcoins]

Most people don't understand it. I don't even claim that I fully do because I'm not an expert in encryption protocols, hashes and all that math stuff. I don't even know most altcoins. There's so many of them that you have to be working with them every single day to keep track.
What I've noticed over the years is most people who are tech savvy and see the value in electronic money, domains, software, will value bitcoins, but people who are not tech savvy get repelled by technicalities and prefer to say "it's worthless shit" than admit they don't understand it and don't invest in things they know nothing about, which would be fair and honest.

These are the government's employees like banks who would prefer not to acknowledge bitcoin as resources.
Since bitcoin is utilizing worldwide and a large number of peoples are not paying charges to the government.
We're utilizing bitcoin and making brilliant benefit from it we're not quieting such craps.
Digital money will be the future and the government needs to acknowledge it.

[cryptoaddictchie]

With the advent of such practices, cryptocurrency may start being viewed more seriously in the legal world and smart contracts can be legally enforced too. So cryptocurrencies can probably finally be seen as an asset even according to local laws of that particular country.

It is legal, no need to enforced some kind of rules. If we force it to some blockchain approach then the decentralized perspective would be gone dont you think? Yes some agreed to enforced rules so every investors can rest and be at peace but were there are some who dont agreed to it and Im one of them, I can see only abuse especially on tax implementation.

[verita1]

Despite the skepticism that cryptocurrencies cause by some people for being a novel creation and that they do not have a complete endorsement. Cryptocurrencies are considered assets because they were created for that purpose and we recognize it as a digital asset. I agree with you that sooner or later they will be recognized as such.
In my country cryptocurrencies are accepted but the use that the community has given them is through the P2P trade.

[davis196]

I have had this debate with may different people from different walks of life. In many parts of the world, cryptocurrencies are considered an asset and most of us might be well aware of this too. However, there are many reasons it is still not considered an asset, many( especially regulators ) believe it to be mainly due to the lack of legal rights. This can probably change completely in the future when serious regulated players like Banks get involved. Governments surely see value in it, but they are still skeptical. I think this will change over the due course of time once crypto starts gaining more mainstream traction.

Another interesting approach I came across is trying to introduce a layer by leveraging Blockchains like Concordium which claim to have regulatory compliance and Identity verification at a protocol level. Attempts like this sure might give more confidence among banks to start cryptocurrency custodianship/ interaction. 

With the advent of such practices, cryptocurrency may start being viewed more seriously in the legal world and smart contracts can be legally enforced too. So cryptocurrencies can probably finally be seen as an asset even according to local laws of that particular country.

It isn't going to happen overnight, it sure will be a tough battle,but I see it as a sensible way forward. Is cryptocurrency legal in your country? What are your thoughts?

Who claims that cryptocurrencies aren't an asset?Can you mention someone?Can you provide any proof?
Opinions of other people about the nature of cryptocurrencies doesn't matter.Cryptocurrencies are recognized as a financial asset in most countries in the world and that's a fact.I care only about facts,not opinions.
Crypto is supposed to be an "anti-bank" financial system.Why do everyone wants the banks to step in and adopt cryptocurrencies,thinking that this will solve every problem of the global financial system?
I've never heard anything about this Concordium project and I don't trust any project that wants to get my Identity information and use it for God knows what purpose.

[Golftech]

people don't think of crypto as an asset because of its volatile price.  most people think that if the asset is stored the price will go up not down like gold and others.

we have our own perception to what asset is all about,thats why some people don't think of this as an asset because of being virtual and non physical.

crypto is currency but even Fiat if you store in your vault it can be consider as asset,so Crypto as staying in our wallet means this is an asset right?

[YOSHIE]

I have the right answer for you about people choosing crypto as their asset.

There's no way bitcoin is a safe-haven asset even in the best of times, and I say that based on its volatility alone.  And it's turning out to be even worse in a crisis.  I haven't done the math, but bitcoin has dropped something like $4k in the past month or two.  You tell me if that's an asset that people are going to flock to because they're scared.

Is cryptocurrency legal in your country? What are your thoughts?

My country has no special rules against crypto users at the moment, only the government notifies the public.

The risk for crypto users is their own risk, meaning: the government, do not prohibit and do not order, now the choice lies with the crypto community itself to trade and invest, and also to choose as their asset.

[Blackrain13]

When you say Asset it is a useful or valuable thing, person, or quality. And cryptocurrency in included to a kind of asset which is Intangible but I think others don't claim it as an asset because of it's decentralization on which government has no single authority over it and because  of the anonymity and volatility nature of crypto. But for me Cryptocurrency is an special financial asset that we have and can acquire  by anybody here in crypto space and can cash out anytime you want and exchange to a fiat money.

[Alert31]

Cryptocurrency is a digital asset, intangible but still different to an asset that already accepted by the government. It depends to you if you can be considered cryptocurrency as an asset or not. The important now almost all people are using bitcoin and adoption will increase that makes it more valuable in the near future.

[Febo]

Why do people claim cryptocurrencies aren’t an asset?

It does not really matter what people are saying. It matters what government is saying. Bitcoin will work as it works no matter what will be. Difference is how it is taxed. That is what concerns governments. So they interpret Bitcoin to gain most taxes. Some governments are long other short sighted. Shortsighted will cal bitcoin as asset and tax it. Smart governments will ca Bitcoin a money and not tax it, but gain more on long term since economy around Bitcoin will develop faster and stronger.

[amishmanish]

People who claim cryptocurrencies aren't an asset base it on the argument that they are not backed by any tangible use of capital for production of a service or product. Bitcoin is software and a huge network of users. If that is NOT an asset, then neither is facebook, instagram, twitter, gmail or numerous other platforms that are basically just software running on huge servers and used by people around the globe.

This argument that "cryptocurrencies are not an asset" is sometimes given out of ignorance but mostly out of malice and insecurity by people who don't want an alternative to the easy debt-based money of our capitalist society. Imagine if you were in place of the powerful few who could keep people working for them for a pittance compared to what they earn, all because the debt-based economy allows them to inflate money supply whenever they want and keep making masses work for the carrot dangling from the end of the stick. Why would you want to recognize something like bitcoin that can challenge the status quo.

[FlightyPouch]

...The important now almost all people are using bitcoin and adoption will increase that makes it more valuable in the near future.

The fact that people don't support bitcion means that there are a lot of peole taht are not using bitcoin let alone know what it is and crypto currencies as a whole. It is said that it is based on the fact that it is decentralized and it is just backed with the trust of the investors has. For me it is an asset, with a lot of profits it gave to people, being backed reassure people but even without that, bitcoin is still an asset.

[Janation]

It isn't going to happen overnight, it sure will be a tough battle,but I see it as a sensible way forward. Is cryptocurrency legal in your country? What are your thoughts?

It is legal in our country.

Despite that, people aren't that stuck on using Bitcoin or even have an idea of accepting it but when they are given the idea that many people actually earned a lot of profit in this cryptocurrency, they can change their mind. There are also many people thinking that it is a scam but I usually say that it is a volatile cryptocurrency, an intangible asset where they could earn profit through time.

[Wexnident]

Decentralization, and probably ignorance are the reasons. Maybe because adoption really isn't all that big, plus, most government bodies have been against it back then which kind of forced the idea that cryptocurrencies aren't an asset, due to both ignorance of how it works, as well as malice against it. A quick search of what "asset" means would result in something that a "business, or econmic entity" owns. Due to Decentralization, we all know how Bitcoin isn't owned by any business, but it is owned by the community, which I think makes the decision to actually apply it as an asset difficult for centralized organizations. Even if we do consider the issue regarding volatility, I'm pretty sure that is up to the discretion of the person themselves, and not really enough to influence the decision of the Government.

[jaysabi]

Let's look at how "asset" is conventionally defined:

An asset is a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit.

An economic resource is something that is scarce and has the ability to produce economic benefit by generating cash inflows or decreasing cash outflows.

Assets can be broadly categorized into short-term (or current) assets, fixed assets, financial investments, and intangible assets.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/asset.asp

Even if local laws don't recognize cryptocurrency as a financial investment, it should be recognized an intangible asset, since it can be liquidated for cash value despite having no physical presence or official legal recognition.

That doesn't necessarily mean BTC holders have adequate legal rights (equal to regulated security or bond holders, for example) everywhere, but common sense tells me that is the direction things are headed. It just may take a decade or two for common sense regulation to take hold.

You've identified the key component.  An investment and an asset are not necessarily the same thing.  People can take all kinds of issue with what type of "investment" bitcoin is (the degree of risk, whether or not it should be stable, the types of returns that are reasonable vs. hyped), but it's not really debatable whether or not it's an "asset." And there's a distinction between an asset you might be interested in owning vs. a binary yes or no on the question itself. The fact remains that it's is commonly accepted as an instrument that a wide portion of the population understands to hold value, therefore it is an asset.

[abhiseshakana]

When you say Asset it is a useful or valuable thing, person, or quality. And cryptocurrency in included to a kind of asset which is Intangible but I think others don't claim it as an asset because of it's decentralization on which government has no single authority over it and because  of the anonymity and volatility nature of crypto. But for me Cryptocurrency is an special financial asset that we have and can acquire  by anybody here in crypto space and can cash out anytime you want and exchange to a fiat money.

Cryptocurrency is basically money that has a function as a medium of exchange for goods and services and as a unit of account to determine the value/price of a type of goods and as a comparison of the price of one item to another. If crypto is only used as a store of value, it is the same as stopping the function of the money, because money is only valuable after being exchanged for goods or services.

[jaysabi]

When you say Asset it is a useful or valuable thing, person, or quality. And cryptocurrency in included to a kind of asset which is Intangible but I think others don't claim it as an asset because of it's decentralization on which government has no single authority over it and because  of the anonymity and volatility nature of crypto. But for me Cryptocurrency is an special financial asset that we have and can acquire  by anybody here in crypto space and can cash out anytime you want and exchange to a fiat money.

Cryptocurrency is basically money that has a function as a medium of exchange for goods and services and as a unit of account to determine the value/price of a type of goods and as a comparison of the price of one item to another. If crypto is only used as a store of value, it is the same as stopping the function of the money, because money is only valuable after being exchanged for goods or services.

Money itself is a medium for exchange of value and has some other technical requirements for something to qualify as "money." For me, Bitcoin fails the stability requirement of money since it is so volatile, and so for me, bitcoin (and all crypto) constitutes a terrible form of money since the value is so unstable. As an asset, though, it fits all the criteria necessary to be considered so.

[naikturun]

I think the meaning of the word asset is different from the point of view of each person, if I think an asset is something that can make you money regularly, like you make a deposit in a bank and earn interest every year, own property and rent it out, own a retail business, and you get income. routine every day, week, month, year.
while crypto cannot give you a definite profit every day, but its value will increase if the price goes up.

[AicecreaME]

Bitcoin is an asset, but not a financial asset. Why? well unlike money, Bitcoin can be mine anytime while money can't. Producing a lot of money everytime will cause an inflation, while in cryptocurrency inflation doesn't exist. We have different perspective when it comes to cryptocurrency, other's see it as a financial asset, and some don't, but it doesn't really matter in my opinion.

Asset or not, bitcoin will always be Bitcoin and people will continue to get benefits from it as long as they are using it in the right way.

[Chrystora123]

people don't think of crypto as an asset because of its volatile price.  most people think that if the asset is stored the price will go up not down like gold and others.

we have our own perception to what asset is all about,thats why some people don't think of this as an asset because of being virtual and non physical.

In public schools, the teachers still teach that assets must be physical (such as gold, houses, and land) but the fact is that in this modern era, stocks, government bonds, and forex called non-physical assets.. 

crypto is currency but even Fiat if you store in your vault it can be consider as asset,so Crypto as staying in our wallet means this is an asset right?

in the last 10 years, (since the emergence of Bitcoin) cryptocurrency has been a debate, some argue that Bitcoin is a currency and some argue that Bitcoin is an asset because of its price volatility.  in theory, Bitcoin can be called both (currency or an asset) which is non-physical because it has a value..

[Wawa2013]

I am sure that people who say cryptocurrencies are not assets do not understand cryptocurrency, or that person is a crypto hater,
so argue with emotion without thinking it first. If we do research properly, there are already many countries that recognize that
cryptocurrency is an asset. Even some countries have legalized crypto as digital assets.This has proven that cryptocurrency is an asset,
so for those of you who think crypto is not an asset as well as learning more about cryptocurrency. Because I believe these people lack
knowledge of cryptocurrencies.