Bitcoin as a speculative asset or as currency

[Kimonoe]

For privacy reasons, decentralized currencies like Bitcoin evolved to make privacy possible, Bitcoin gives freedom in a way your money (bitcoin) can not be monitored by the government, that void of privacy which could be horrible.

I am afraid I disagree that Bitcoin is an anonymous currency and the government can’t monitor it. All your transactions are placed in the blockchain, so everything is clear. Especially if you interact with centralised exchanges, they can trace how your money moves and then connect your address with your identity. Nowadays the only private crypto is Monero.

and in the end the crypto money is converted to fiat currency, and in the exchange there is the identity of the user, so it is clear to whom the money is spinning. I think this is just an alibi or a political game, but what is certain now is that bitcoin functions more effectively as a trading tool or a profitable investment tool.

[oHnK]

It is said that the central banks are nervous about Bitcoin to be used as a currency but just as a store of value like gold and silver. That if Bitcoin is emerging as a currency, going mainstream and people using it as direct payment, this can still lead to governments trying all possible means to intervene which can be the biggest issue and threat towards Bitcoin adoption. That governments power and influence over their people are their currency, and government will not want to lose the control.

You are right that the government doesn’t want to lose its authority, so they want to replace crypto currencies by creating digital state currencies. I don't believe in any digital state currencies. They will still be regulated by the government. The main feature of digital money is decentralisation and uncontrollability from authorities, but digital euros, rubles, yuan will be under control, so it is the same as just non-cash money but on blockchain instead of bank account.

In fact, no government anywhere is happy if its power is limited, let alone hampered.  Not only Crypto will make it difficult for a centralized government, Fiat in other countries is not easy to become legal fiat for a country.  For example, Indonesia does not recognize other currencies as a means of transaction, only Rupiah and the only legal currency.  Even if you bring thousands of dollars it is not legal to transact in Indonesia. You have to change ur dollar first.

[kapalmabur]

For privacy reasons, decentralized currencies like Bitcoin evolved to make privacy possible, Bitcoin gives freedom in a way your money (bitcoin) can not be monitored by the government, that void of privacy which could be horrible.

I am afraid I disagree that Bitcoin is an anonymous currency and the government can’t monitor it. All your transactions are placed in the blockchain, so everything is clear. Especially if you interact with centralised exchanges, they can trace how your money moves and then connect your address with your identity. Nowadays the only private crypto is Monero.

With blockchain technology I think all transactions are clear and transparent,
Of course, this kind of thing is not owned by Traditional Banks,
so we don't have to worry too much and that helps a lot

[Charles-Tim]

I am afraid I disagree that Bitcoin is an anonymous currency and the government can’t monitor it. All your transactions are placed in the blockchain, so everything is clear.

Nobody mentioned Bitcoin as an anonymous currency, Bitcoin can be used by experienced users and maintain high privacy level, but it is not an anonymous currency. Coins like Monero are regarded as anonymous currency because their transactions are not transparent, no open ledger available for such anonymous cryptocurrencies unlike Bitcoin, so Bitcoin is not anonymous as it's transactions is visible on blockchain and can be seen by blockchain obeservers.

Especially if you interact with centralised exchanges, they can trace how your money moves and then connect your address with your identity. Nowadays the only private crypto is Monero.

Not your key not your coin, centralized services like centralized exchanges does not only make you not to have privacy, it makes you not to have the total control over your funds. To have the freedom, you needed to go for noncustodial wallet. And not only that, you will need to monitor your inputs and outputs, making use of mixers and CoinJoin when necessary while ricochet is also important after CoinJoin to make transactions no tainted as illegal when making use of centralized service like during purchase.

[just_Alice]

There is no single answer to this question. To whom? Investors, banks, the government - Bitcoin is an asset to them, they want it to be and they fear it becoming a widely used currency, thus, they collaborate and try to offer a misleading alternative - digital currencies, like Yuan.

For most people, it’s something in between. They want to make transactions without being traced, but, at the same time, accumulate Bitcoin and subconsciously wish for the price to grow to make a profit.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Currently BTC is being taken as a currency in some countries, "El Salvador" is one of the countries with the highest adoption by BTC, and it is incredible that a country like "El Salvador" before Europe and North America have that concept However, BTC is a currency that has a lot of speculation in the market, I think that now apart from "El Salvador" Paraguay is going to join the party of the adoption of BTC as a currency, if this happens it will not only be an instrument of speculation in the market will be taken into account as it always should be, a leading currency worldwide.

Venezuela is a country that despite all its unsustainable problems of all kinds, has not taken BTC into account as official currency, but the same government uses BTC for its international transactions to bypass the prohibitions with the USA, this is a clear example that There are already countries using BTC as a currency even above the dollar.

[verita1]

Bitcoin is no longer a speculative asset as described by governments that have banned it, such as China, India, among others, in order to convince their population not to trust it.
But as large, recognized institutions and entrepreneurs have invested in bitcoin, they have broken that paradigm. There are advantages to investing in bitcoin and they cannot be covered with a finger, it represents the backing of the investments.

Undoubtedly those who are investing large amounts of money in bitcoin know that it is a store of value.
Bitcoin is disrupting money and the way to a great ecosystem that has been created with cryptocurrencies, better finances are being created every day thanks to this change in technologies.

[Vishnu.Reang]

There is no single answer to this question. To whom? Investors, banks, the government - Bitcoin is an asset to them, they want it to be and they fear it becoming a widely used currency, thus, they collaborate and try to offer a misleading alternative - digital currencies, like Yuan.

For most people, it’s something in between. They want to make transactions without being traced, but, at the same time, accumulate Bitcoin and subconsciously wish for the price to grow to make a profit.

It is not "something in between". Bitcoin is suitable for most purposes. BTW, even the US Dollar can be used for investment purposes. Trillions of USD worth of treasury notes and bonds have been issued by the US government. And these bonds/notes are essentially US Dollar which is used for investment purposes. Regarding Bitcoin, it was originally designed as a currency. But nowadays, it is used for multiple purposes - for making payments, as a store of value, and finally as a speculative investment asset.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

There is no single answer to this question. To whom? Investors, banks, the government - Bitcoin is an asset to them, they want it to be and they fear it becoming a widely used currency, thus, they collaborate and try to offer a misleading alternative - digital currencies, like Yuan.

For most people, it’s something in between. They want to make transactions without being traced, but, at the same time, accumulate Bitcoin and subconsciously wish for the price to grow to make a profit.

Well, you can answer it based on your standings, remember that it's alright to have a diverse answer to promote a healthy discussion because it helps us see differing perspective. For me, a normal person, I see it as both, it can be an asset that grows overtime and I can invest in it and I also see it as a currency because it's been used before and I've used it myself.

[Gyfts]

Both, probably.

You ask someone in the first world that is middle/high income, they'll treat it as a speculative asset because they don't believe Bitcoin has intrinsic value. To be fair, there is no intrinsic value of Bitcoin, but neither is any other currency that isn't backed by a gold standard. But, take away the stable currency that people rely on to accumulate their wealth, for whatever reason, be it inflation, political battles, war, whatever - does Bitcoin act as a currency then? When your traditional currencies fail? Yes.

[NeuroticFish]

but JPMorgan Chase are now offering Bitcoin to a range of clients

It may not matter much, but afaik they offer Bitcoin fund and Bitcoin related derivative products, not actual bitcoin.

Is Bitcoin still yet a speculative asset or a store of value?

The question is important and the answer is not easy, not yet. With the wide (wild) price fluctuations it's still risky - at least for short term - to see bitcoin as store of value. Of course, in time the price change should get somewhere near to gold (i.e. boring) and then we can say loudly that we have a store of value. Until then it's still more a speculative asset than a store of value. Still, at various degrees, it's both.

Also bitcoin high transaction fee, is it not related to this? Because the lower the fee the more Bitcoin will fit into the currency category.

Imho tx fees are not rising based on normal day by day use of average Joe, they rise basically when traders get woken up. When price fluctuations will be boring, this will not happen anymore and we will see if we have a problem with high tx fees.

For most people, it’s something in between. They want to make transactions without being traced, but, at the same time, accumulate Bitcoin and subconsciously wish for the price to grow to make a profit.

Actually most people don't even know good enough what bitcoin is. They've heard about its price. And then they'll probably answer "speculative asset". But as said, you better answer what it is for you.
And yeah, bitcoin is traceable unless you mix/coinjoin...

[Dragonfund]

Can it be both because I believe that bitcoin is comprised of factors that is unique to currency and speculative asset. Plus there's nothing wrong with both because it adds some character of some sort to bitcoin being debated whether it's an asset or a currency.

Physically, there are still some properties bitcoin need to exhibit before it can fully be regarded as currency.
Bitcoin might be divisible, value, exchange between parties and spend within or anywhere in the world but if we want bitcoin to be used as currency, we should try and consider other part of the world who doesn't have the ability to get some due to their current situation such as access to internet, education and knowledge about the whole thing and money.
Some people knows fiat as money because they used it everyday but if you asked them more about money, they know nothing about it. Now tell me, how do you plan to implement bitcoin on those areas? It will be so difficult to used by everyone.

[Robinson66]

Now Bitcoin is getting more and more monetization, because the lightning network, Bitcoin can also propose tips, and countries are considering setting the Bitcoin to a statutory currency.
But now Bitcoin is used for investment, I don't want to pay with Bitcoin, I believe that the value of Bitcoin is getting higher and higher.

[Kasabus]

More of a speculative asset, institutions are investing in bitcoin for that reason, they might adopt, but maybe later when bitcoin is less volatile. As we can see, the market is very volatile and it's not free from manipulation, in fact, the manipulation is rampant as people are less educated about the real purpose of crypto, so it cannot be an effective currency if it's so volatile.

[Charles-Tim]

More of a speculative asset, institutions are investing in bitcoin for that reason, they might adopt, but maybe later when bitcoin is less volatile. As we can see, the market is very volatile and it's not free from manipulation, in fact, the manipulation is rampant as people are less educated about the real purpose of crypto, so it cannot be an effective currency if it's so volatile.

If you are commenting about how Bitcoin can be migrating from being called speculative asset moving more towards store of value, your post content is very valid, but if you are commenting about how Bitcoin will be an effective currency, then it is not the subject of the matter. The market is very volatile which can even make some people to panic and sell at the wrong time, but Bitcoin can still yet be considered as a store of value if seen from appropriate direction, Bitcoin is always reaching all-time-high is one of the reasons, and it will still reach all-time-high.

[lixer]

Is Bitcoin still yet a speculative asset or a store of value? I think people will have different opinions about this.

Bitcoin can be all (speculative asset or a store of value or a currency).

All currencies can be traded hence being volatile may not disqualify from being a currency.

Speculative asset means highly fluctuating one and bitcoin is already doing that in great manner.

Being used as store of value will be possible if NOT too volatile still if people ignore the volatile nature then bitcoin will remain as preferred store of value as bitcoin always appreciating in long run.

In long run, after bitcoin attaining values in millions then people may start afraid to spend bitcoin for buying their foods and groceries which might be the point where bitcoin will start losing its positions as a currency. But, being speculative asset and store-of-value will continue forever how gold is doing even after 2000 years of running.

[Kyraishi]

Probably neither.

Fact of the matter is that bitcoin is a long term store of value asset due to its disinflationary properties. It might not be a currency in the truest sense, at least not right now, given its long-ish confirmation times.

But certainly it's not just a speculative toy. The short term fluctuations are going to be present, but in the long run, you'll find that BTC preserves value a lot better than fiat or even gold.

[worle1bm]

For me bitcoin is both because I am holding it for long term as an investment source and also want to use it as a currency when local stores near me start accepting bitcoin and then just by scanning qr code and with LN transactions can be made at ease.But for most of the people at this time bitcoin is being recognised as store of value and asset which can give high profits in the long run but with btc becoming mainstream it will be used as currency.

[TheGreatPython]

Probably neither.

Fact of the matter is that bitcoin is a long term store of value asset due to its disinflationary properties.

Don't you find yourself contradicted yourself with above two statements. I cannot agree that bitcoin cannot be either one of speculative asset or currency. It will definitely. Moreover, right now people are making use of bitcoin for both speculative asset and as currency and it is purely depending on how much risk you are ready to take with the bitcoin given that considering the conveniences and advantages provided by bitcoin.

for most of the people at this time bitcoin is being recognised as store of value and asset which can give high profits in the long run but with btc becoming mainstream it will be used as currency.

Being used as store of value and asset may lead to mainstream adoption, I agree. But, when bitcoin will be valuing massively then people may not prefer to use it as a currency. So, I am not expecting bitcoin to remain as a currency or will turn as a currency in future.

[Tumanggor]

I see Bitcoin based on my personal perception, for me Bitcoin is more of both
being called a speculative asset is correct because of its volatile nature which makes Bitcoin worthy of being dubbed it

being called a currency is also correct because the country of el salvador has made bitcoin as a legal tender, it means bitcoin is legally called a currency