Is bitcoin an asset or a currency?

[Farma]

I also agree that the opinion that bitcoin is an asset or currency depends on the country we are in.
in some countries, bitcoin is prohibited as a currency, but is allowed as an investment asset, just like in mine. So, I treat bitcoin like any other asset that needs to be held long term, or traded.
in some countries like El Salvador, bitcoin is used as a legal payment alternative, so, I think a lot of people are using bitcoin as a currency there. however, what is special is, when the country legalizes bitcoin as a currency, then bitcoin can automatically be used as an asset.
Personally, I use bitcoin as a long term asset.

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[ChiBitCTy]

A guy I know, who I will not call a friend as I don't like this dude but all of my friends, or many of my friends seem to (which I just can't seem to understand why) made fun of me in a group chat once for saying that it was important to use bitcoin as a currency.  I think it's ridiculous and short sided as hell if you don't think bitcoin is a currency or should be used as one. Bitcoin is both a currency and an asset.. it CAN be both and it IS both.

[ice18]

For me I can see it also as both, It depends on how you use it, others use btc as an asset and a currency, so theres no problem with that as long as you did not violate any rules in your country when it comes to owning bitcoin.

[Abiky]

I have been in lots of argument lately with close friends who keep dragging this subject matter. A friend of mine was of the opinion that an asset is any commodity that has a unit of symbol with monetary value attached to it while a currency has an exchange value that can be used in exchange for commodities. This very friend was of the opinion that bitcoin isn't a currency that its an asset because its value isn't stable and has volatility

Another said bitcoin is both an asset and a currency depending how the user chooses to treat it. He was of the opinion that while bitcoin can be used in exchange for goods and services it can also serve as a store of value where you convert your fiat to a digital asset waiting for it to appreciate.

For me I will go with my other friend who said bitcoin can serve both purposes which depends on two major factors:

• Your country
• You as an individual

Your country:
In my opinion you can't use bitcoin as a currency in a country where it is not legalized or a country where bitcoin is banned. Some countries has restricted ezchnagers from carrying out their business within the region so in such places you can't use your coin for commercial purpose you it will only serve as an asset

As an individual:
This is based on your choice if you are lucky enough to base in a country where bitcoin is legalized or a country where the government decides to remain mute of crypto related issues you can decide either to store yours as an asset or use it as a currency. But in countries with low civilization you will have the challenge of using it as a currency because it hasn't been accepted as a legal tender.

what is your take on this

It depends on what you're going to use Bitcoin for. You can either use it as an asset, a currency, or both. There's really no limits on what you can do with it. Governments can't decide for yourself on how to use Bitcoin, simply because the cryptocurrency is outside of their jurisdiction. The decentralized and censorship-resistant nature of Bitcoin makes governments' efforts worthless. They'll only try to regulate it by forcing centralized exchanges to play by their rules, but that's it.

I'd say Bitcoin is more of a multi-purpose financial system than a mere asset or currency. It's programmable money that's often better than Fiat. What you'll do with it is entirely up to you. Just my thoughts

[TribalBob]

Asset or currency, you decide it with your perspective, not your government, your country.

If there is a ban on crypto currency in your country will you still trade it? Let's take China for example do they have exchanges there? Bitcoin only has value if it is legalized in your country aside that you can only store them in your cold wallet or hot wallet until you travel outside the country where you can exchange them for whatever value you choose

I still say bitcoin is a digital asset, because in my country there are no transactions that can be paid with bitcoin, maybe my country still looks ancient, but I don't worry about having bitcoin because the government doesn't prohibit crypto transactions

[QuickAccount]

It might be both, because some governments have legalized bitcoin and have begun to utilize it as a payment method or currency. However, in nations where it has not yet been legalized, it might be a currency if it is used as a payment method. It might also be an asset because many people are investing in it and profiting from it. If it has a high value, you can call it an asset.

In my opinion, value doesnt translate to if its an asset or not, look at cardano, its not past $4, but it is totally an asset. Same thing with penny stocks, even if the value is very low, they are still an asset. What the price is now doesnt reflect what the price will be in the future.

Back to the original topic, I think bitcoin can be used for both, it just depends on what you use it as. Personally, I just hold my bitcoin, but whenever I want to buy something with crypto, I use a coin other than bitcoin because of the high transaction fees of bitcoin. But to other people its just as much a currency as it is an asset, thats the beauty of crypto, it doesnt have just one purpose, it just suits the needs of the people whenever it is needed. Some people use it as just currency, some people see it as an asset, and some people see it as both. It just up to you what you do with it!

[ethereumhunter]

Asset or currency, you decide it with your perspective, not your government, your country.

If there is a ban on crypto currency in your country will you still trade it? Let's take China for example do they have exchanges there? Bitcoin only has value if it is legalized in your country aside that you can only store them in your cold wallet or hot wallet until you travel outside the country where you can exchange them for whatever value you choose

If that is the case, we can keep bitcoin in our wallet without telling them that we have bitcoin or altcoin. We can hide it until the government allows us to use crypto again and I guess that at that time, the price of crypto will be so high. Chinese people can do this while waiting for the government policy to allow them to use crypto while they can browse the crypto price without doing anything.

If that happen then we don't have a choice but to hide but for sure there will be underground transaction towards that but we can expect that the rate is more higher due to that restriction they made but if we have long patience to hold and wait for everything will be in good shape again towards the government opening up their citizen to go on cryptocurrency again maybe by that time we can see bitcoin at more higher digits knowing bitcoin always show good progress every year pass.

Yes, the underground transaction will have so many customers because the government limited or blocked their access to trade crypto. As long as we can wait for a while until the government can revise their rules about using crypto, that will be worth it for us just to keep crypto in our wallet. Yes, the government will rethink opening up the access for their citizen to use crypto as before. I think the government does not want to be late to join in crypto like the other country, especially if crypto becomes a new trend in many countries.

[masulum]

Why the government considers BTC a digital asset, and it is very difficult to accept BTC as a currency, (IMO) the most obvious reason is because they don't want to make value of their currency decreas. When more people use BTC as currency, businesses such as banking will experience a drastic decline in customers. Because they can create their own bank wallet.

Also, The demand for currency issued by the country may also decrease. The reason is, export-import payments and tourists will choose to use BTC instead of having to exchange the currency of their country first.

In the end, we like it or not, personally, have to accept BTC as a digital asset, when the government has made BTC a part of tradable assets.

[adzino]

I have been in lots of argument lately with close friends who keep dragging this subject matter. A friend of mine was of the opinion that an asset is any commodity that has a unit of symbol with monetary value attached to it while a currency has an exchange value that can be used in exchange for commodities. This very friend was of the opinion that bitcoin isn't a currency that its an asset because its value isn't stable and has volatility

Another said bitcoin is both an asset and a currency depending how the user chooses to treat it. He was of the opinion that while bitcoin can be used in exchange for goods and services it can also serve as a store of value where you convert your fiat to a digital asset waiting for it to appreciate.
-snip-

Yeah, it actually depends on how the person chooses to use bitcoin. But based on usability, I think bitcoin "currently" is more suited to be used as an asset (store of value). The transaction speed is low. The fees is sometimes very absurd. We don't want to be waiting for more than 10 minutes just to buy something, do  we? So for now, buy and hold. Once we find a good solution on how to solve the current issues with the network, we can start using it as a regular currency (and enjoy those extra profits we made while holding it!).

[zahed]

I can treated Bitcoin is both of asset and currency even though in my country it's not legal tender. Being illegal but i am able to utilize it properly for many purposes in my life, so that i can it property and a currency. Even binance and some crypto exchange launched p2p trade for crypto to my native currency.

[Imran232]

Well, in that case, if I keep my country's side and give my opinion, then bitcoin is a virtual currency which is also known as an investment asset. Which is a simple and explained sentence for your question? I hope so. There has two types of opinion :
For the government: If the country has its own native currency and they don't want to ignore it, then they can use bitcoin as an investment asset and a secondary digital payment method.
 
I don't care how the government adopts it. My only wish is that the government approves it. Then it will be my turn to use it. That's it.
 
And the thing is, bitcoin is best from both points of view. No matter what you choose as a currency or asset, it will perform its best. 

[Bollexz1]

Another said bitcoin is both an asset and a currency depending how the user chooses to treat it. He was of the opinion that while bitcoin can be used in exchange for goods and services it can also serve as a store of value where you convert your fiat to a digital asset waiting for it to appreciate.

I think this describe bitcoin extensively more than your other friend. It can be use in both ways and that's what make bitcoin one of the best innovation ever invented.

[GeorgeJohn]

Bitcoin is considered an asset would be better off. Everyone knows bitcoin as a financial investment industry. But being developed as a means of payment is also very attractive. It looks like bitcoin can be used as both.

Yeah i agreed with you, bitcoin is an asset because it's obvious that bitcoin yields positively when it's come's in terms of investment, and anything that gives return weather in a larger form or a smaller quantity is an asset, so i think many people will have different definition or different way of getting ride of assets definition, so in summary, cryptocurrency especially bitcoin is an investment if really know the rudiments of the cryptocurrency.

[osasshem]

The legalization of Bitcoin in most countries is becoming alarming and sounding as something forbidden by some. Countries that placed ban on the use of Bitcoin will find it difficult in terms of exchanging it to fist, except going the the online way, which most exchanges now supports (the P2P) process. Outside that, it's almost impossible to change your Bitcoin to fiat, and on that point, it becomes an asset for the store of value. But when it comes to a country where the use of Bitcoin is accepted with ban or restrictions, the use becomes interesting,and using it for the store of value becomes more exciting when it is time to withdraw/convert your crypto to fiat.
The point is this, whether it is taken to be an asset or a currency, it depends on the country which the person is located.

[riskarcher]

So far even though many large companies accept bitcoin as a legal currency payment but in the eyes of investors or traders Bitcoin is still a valuable asset that has a high selling value in the long term and we all know that, every few years Bitcoin has a significant increase in price and the community invests their money and believe in the expansion of Bitcoin on an international scale of asset

[blckhawk]

well bitcoin for me bitcoin is both an asset and a currency, it falls in the category of asset because you can invest in bitcoin and also its price is not in a stable manner it always fluctuates depending in the demand and supply of it, it also falls in the category of currency because you can buy products and services using bitcoin, although the amount of services and products is not that many still you can use it for payment.

[Rajamuda]

Bitcoin is an asset and it is indeed a currency, a virtual world currency that has been proven to attract many enthusiasts so that some of its advantages are able to make it more recognizable as well as close to humans.
It's just that all governments or countries have different assumptions and responses regarding Bitcoin itself.
Overall.. at the first, I think it's more dominant as an asset that has multiple steps until it can become a means of payment in certain countries because of its increasing popularity.

[iTradeChips]

Asset or currency, you decide it with your perspective, not your government, your country.

If there is a ban on crypto currency in your country will you still trade it? Let's take China for example do they have exchanges there? Bitcoin only has value if it is legalized in your country aside that you can only store them in your cold wallet or hot wallet until you travel outside the country where you can exchange them for whatever value you choose

Well, during the prohibition period in America, liquors prices went up because it was prohibited by the US government then. When marijuana was illegalized the price went up and the value of the drug went high. Governments has reasons why they illegalize or ban a certain commodity, mostly for political or economic reasons. I do not agree that Bitcoin only has value if it is legalized because even without being legalized or decreed being legal, Bitcoin still made it way up and prices went astronomically high compared to its value 11 years ago.

[Reatim]

Bitcoin is an asset and it is indeed a currency, a virtual world currency that has been proven to attract many enthusiasts so that some of its advantages are able to make it more recognizable as well as close to humans.

depend on how you use and belief in Bitcoin , it will be asset if you will only Buy and Hold or sell the coin and this will be a currency if you constantly use for transaction purposes .

It's just that all governments or countries have different assumptions and responses regarding Bitcoin itself.

In the past almost all of them has different outlook and stand for Bitcoin but nowadays? more and more countries are considering accepting and adopting bitcoin.

Overall.. at the first, I think it's more dominant as an asset that has multiple steps until it can become a means of payment in certain countries because of its increasing popularity.

El Salvador already started this run and there are some who is considering also.

[Poker Player]

I'm surprised that poyaa87 hasn't stopped by to comment, I guess he's a bit fed up with it.

The question raised by the OP, to my mind is a false dilemma, although he then comments that for his other friend it can be both.

My understanding is that it is. It is on the one hand an asset, because it is used as such, mainly as a store of value, and many people buy it expecting to get a return on investment, correctly, because since its birth it is the most profitable asset in the world.

It is also a currency because it is used as such. Let's look at the number of daily transactions. And let's compare it with gold, for example. Gold was used as a currency in the past, today it is no longer. Gold is not used to pay in stores or casinos, or to pay people for their services, as is done with Bitcoin.