Is bitcoin a legal tender or not. Why?

[Lida93]

Still in the course of learning.
Got into a slight debate with a friend about bitcoin. The whole argument was if bitcoin is a legal tender or not. And he was emphasizing on the premises that bitcoin is a legal tender in the sense that it is used for the exchange of goods and services around the world. And that by the virtue of people using it it's therefore a legal tender.

On the other side I was trying to explain to him that a legal tender is that which is accepted by the government and under the regulation of any central bank and this is not so with bitcoin. Furthermore, that one of the reasons people accept  bitcoin for exchange of goods and services is because the coin it is like a digital gold that has value specially for long term storage and also with equal unit of value anywhere in the world, etc. Using gold or diamond as obvious example of things that has value, I asked him a rhetorical question; that just because these objects has value and could be used as a means of exchange does it make them to be regarded as a legal tender?

To clear the air about the whole argument I considered I should share this in the forum to have a clear stand if bitcoin is a legal tender or not.

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[paid2]

I don't think Bitcoin can be considered a legal tender from an universal point of view right now. The only exception is El Salvador, and perhaps soon in other countries ? (maybe in Africa or South America?)

Being a medium of exchange doesn't make you a legal tender, otherwise cocaine could be one too, for example.

Using gold or diamond as obvious example of things that has value, I asked him a rhetorical question; that just because these objects has value and could be used as a means of exchange does it make them to be regarded as a legal tender?

To clear the air about the whole argument I considered I should share this in the forum to have a clear stand if bitcoin is a legal tender or not.

You answered your own question, having value, whether high or low, is not enough to make one a legal tender.

Being a legal tender is not subjective, there's no real debate about it, only laws that say whether or not it is.

[Spaceman1000$]

The back and forth argument between you and  your friend is an interesting one, however both of you are right in one way or the other.
Bitcoin as we all know is a decentralised digital currency that has monitoriy value.
So in real sense, bitcoin is a legal tender and it's a global currency.

[Sim_card]

 

The back and forth argument between you and  your friend is an interesting one, however both of you are right in one way or the other.
Bitcoin as we all know is a decentralised digital currency that has monitoriy value.
So in real sense, bitcoin is a legal tender and it's a global currency.

Bitcoin is not a legal tender,it is only the government of a country that can make bitcoin a legal tender by signing it into law. People are using bitcoin universal because of it decentralized pattern that makes the users anonymous and it is also a payment method. It is because bitcoin started to increase in value as time pass on and due to the halving event,this made bitcoin became valuable and people started using it as an assets and a store of value. Another reason for using it as a store of value is because bitcoin is inflation resistance. These are the reasons why bitcoin is used for goods and services worldwide. It is only Elsavado that has accepted bitcoin as a legal tender.

[KingsDen]

Let's go this way;

• Legal tender is not about usage but about government acceptability and endorsement
• This means that what is a legal tender in your own country, will definitely not be what is a legal tender in my own country
• By default, bitcoin is not a legal tender and was not created to be a legal tender, because it is not under the control of any cemtral authority
• However, if any country wishes to make bitcoin a legal tender, they are at liberty to do so because the ideology of bitcoin is liberty and/or freedom. Just like what El Salvador did

[Coin_trader]

Still in the course of learning.
Got into a slight debate with a friend about bitcoin. The whole argument was if bitcoin is a legal tender or not. And he was emphasizing on the premises that bitcoin is a legal tender in the sense that it is used for the exchange of goods and services around the world. And that by the virtue of people using it it's therefore a legal tender.

You can consider Bitcoin as legal tender if you can use it to pay on a local vendor without asking them if they accept Bitcoin as payment. Vendor is legally required to accept Bitcoin as mode of payment if Bitcoin is really a legal tender right now.

Some services accepts Bitcoin for payment but they are doing it voluntarily and not required by the law. That’s the importance of the word legal on Legal tender.

[yudi09]

-snip-

We still can't say Bitcoin is a legal tender as implemented in El Salvador.
Many countries of the world still do not want Bitcoin to become legal tender for various valid reasons.
Those of us who are members of a large community really want Bitcoin to become a legal means of payment because Bitcoin has been proven to be able to provide solutions from the beginning to the present.

No need to argue, if Bitcoin can still be exchanged into fiat so that transactions can be made in our country, then continue our activities by investing or trading as usual.

[Ojima-ojo]

Still in the course of learning.
Got into a slight debate with a friend about bitcoin. The whole argument was if Bitcoin is legal tender or not. And he was emphasizing on the premises that Bitcoin is a legal tender in the sense that it is used for the exchange of goods and services around the world. And that by the virtue of people using it it's therefore a legal tender.

Bitcoin is a legal tender in countries like El Salvador which already accept Bitcoin and signed into law as legal tender, but in other countries where the government have not recognised Bitcoin yet as legal tender, bitcoin remains as just assets in the hands of the citizens.


So Bitcoin means different things to different individuals, it all depends on the region where the individual is located but general bitcoin is in the class of gold and other metal assets whose legal status depends on the location of usage.

[Nwada001]

Bitcoin is not a legal tender,it is only the government of a country that can make bitcoin a legal tender by signing it into law.

Bitcoin is a legal tender, and it's also not a legal tender; it all depends on where it's being used, just as explained by iwantmyhomepaidwithbtc2. If you are talking about legal tender when you are referring to El Salvador, then yes, Bitcoin is legal tender, but if it's in other countries where it's not fully accepted by the government, then no, Bitcoin is not legal tender. So the argument is that both sides are correct to me based on their own arguing points.

It's only when one refers to Bitcoin being a global legal tender that I can boldly say NO. Because it's not accepted in all countries, some are Bitcoin friendly while others are not, and some are both, so we can't just judge based on the idea or story from a Bitcoin-friendly country; others should also be put into the picture.

[BIT-BENDER]

I think what many enthusiastic find appealing is that Crypto-currency breaks out of the centralized system where the government have to have control of individuals financial system. Bitcoin is a great option that promotes the values of privacy protection and also anonymity.

With that as a point Bitcoin isn't under the control of any government, institution then who has the right to actually proclaim Bitcoin legal or not? Well the point is that Bitcoin is a decentralized system (freedom) meaning if two people or parties agree on Bitcoin being their means of exchange then it can be done. The government can't stop that.

[Hyphen(-)]

To clear the air about the whole argument I considered I should share this in the forum to have a clear stand if bitcoin is a legal tender or not.

Bitcoin is not yet legal tender because it is not widely acknowledged as a general money for the exchange of goods and services on a worldwide scale.

The Oxford dictionary defines legal tender as

coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt.

In this scenario, Bitcoin is not yet legal money because so many countries have not yet made Bitcoin legal in their jurisdictions.

Furthermore, many people are still unaware of Bitcoin since they do not understand it, and before something becomes legal tender, it must have global recognition and be something that everyone agrees on as a means of payment.

[Who is John Galt?]

To clear the air about the whole argument I considered I should share this in the forum to have a clear stand if bitcoin is a legal tender or not.

Legal tender is a term, let's use a dictionary to define the concept.


https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal tender

What we see is "must be accepted", i.e. someone has to make sure that anyone can pay with the legal tender whenever they want, and the recipient has no right to refuse him. It is the state that has the right to do so. Accordingly, where the state, as in El Salvador, has recognized bitcoin as the legal tender, there it is. In all other countries, it is a matter of agreement between the two parties whether they agree to use bitcoin for payments, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

[Lida93]

Let's go this way;

• Legal tender is not about usage but about government acceptability and endorsement
• This means that what is a legal tender in your own country, will definitely not be what is a legal tender in my own country
• By default, bitcoin is not a legal tender and was not created to be a legal tender, because it is not under the control of any cemtral authority
• However, if any country wishes to make bitcoin a legal tender, they are at liberty to do so because the ideology of bitcoin is liberty and/or freedom. Just like what El Salvador did

This is issue is really get controversial with each comments but let me draw an understanding here. So bitcoin being a legal tender is a subjective matter subject to the specific geographical location where it is accepted by the government of that area. And outside such jurisdiction is loses its legal tender designation.
 For instance, it is said to be a legal tender in El Salvador but  ceased to be a legal tender within a country like Ghana because it's not accepted by the country's government yet.  Is that it?

[Mate2237]

Ordinarily you op supposed under the term Bitcoin and it uses and usage because you started the forum from newbie in 2022. What you would have explained is the part your friend explained. You would have given him examples of countries that have adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender.

Now let me give you some fraction on it. Bitcoin is a legal tender in world but it meant for the individual countries to accept it. If Bitcoin is not a legal tender El Salvador and Central African Republic wouldn't adopted it in the individual countries. Now some countries are afraid to adopt it because their fear is Bitcoin will take over their country economy so they ban it to be used. Bitcoin is a decentralized system and that doesn't mean that the world leaders can not stop Bitcoin, they can stop if Bitcoin is not a legal tender in the world but Bitcoin is a legal tender so it is for the individual countries to accept the new technology or not. But time is still coming that many countries will adopt the technology to support their economy as El Salvador and others have done.

Op so as a member in this forum you are to boldly speak the truth with Bitcoin enthusiast.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

In my opinion, I think that for something to become legal tender, it must have been approved by the government of any nation before it can be fully used in any organization or sector of that country. But as long as Bitcoin is never in full acceptance in the majority of the world's countries, it's not a legal tender yet, apart from El Salvador, which has declared it a legal tender. Apart from that, Bitcoin is not yet legal tender in most countries. because, if it is, that means banks are supposed to even accept Bitcoin and give you cash should you have such a request (just my thoughts). Also, hospitals, schools, general markets, etc. would accept Bitcoin if it became legal tender.

[Faisal2202]

No BTC is not a legal tender in any country other than El-Salvador. Because The government of El-Salvador has made BTC a legal tender which means, they have reserved in there national reserve's in the form of BTC and the government has made some steps to provide free BTC among the citizens so that they all could get familiar with the system for free.

Your concept us right, as Legal tender and making something legal are two different things, as many other members have also shed some light so i will just make it short, that Legal tender is the one currency that a government will use for national reserves and it will have the currency as national currency like BTC and the adoption will be made easy by the government while BTC is being Legal means, government will not help you in adoption of BTC but they will nore stop you either.

[nakamura12]

Bitcoin is not a legal tender where some countries banned the use of Bitcoin and others only adapt Bitcoin but did not make Bitcoin a legal tender. Anyway, Bitcoin is a legal tender where but only El Salvador have done it. As far as I know, I don't know other countries that does the same as what El Salvador did. So in my opinion, Bitcoin are both legal tender (El Salvador) and not legal to most.

[un_rank]

Being used for exchange does not make a currency a legal tender. Anything of value can be exchanged for another thing or product of value which does not make it a legal tender.

Bitcoin is a legal tender in world but it meant for the individual countries to accept it. If Bitcoin is not a legal tender El Salvador and Central African Republic wouldn't adopted it in the individual countries.

That is not how it works. It is governments that choose what currency to make legal tenders and not choosing from a pool of potential legal tenders which they should legalize.

- Jay -

[BitDane]

To clear the air about the whole argument I considered I should share this in the forum to have a clear stand if bitcoin is a legal tender or not.

To be able to tell the difference we must know first what legal tender is.

legal tender noun
 /ˌliːɡl ˈtendə(r)/
 /ˌliːɡl ˈtendər/
[uncountable]
​money that can be legally used to pay for things in a particular country

 So according to the explanation, legal tender is something that is officially recognized that is accepted by the law.  See the keywords there,  the law and officially recognized.  So to be able to tell if something is a legal tender, it should be recognized by the government and Bitcoin is yet to be recognized as legal tender by most of the country and in US Bitcoin is accepted as a commodity.

If we are living in El Salvador, we can say that Bitcoin is a legal tender since it is recognized by the El Salvador government as one but if we live in the US, it is not.  Same goes in my country, Bitcoin is not a legal tender but was recognized as mode of payment.

[Zaguru12]

This is issue is really get controversial with each comments but let me draw an understanding here. So bitcoin being a legal tender is a subjective matter subject to the specific geographical location where it is accepted by the government of that area. And outside such jurisdiction is loses its legal tender designation.
 For instance, it is said to be a legal tender in El Salvador but  ceased to be a legal tender within a country like Ghana because it's not accepted by the country's government yet.  Is that it?

That is exactly it. Being adopted as a legal tender in a particular country doesn’t make it a legal tender in another country. So in these countries that it is not a legal tender it doesn’t mean individuals or citizens can’t accept it from each other but this is done at their own preference and not government approved, so If anything should happen you wouldn’t hold any one responsible for it since you accepted it at your own will.

Example could be an old naira which the government has rendered obsolete and not longer a legal tender. So once someone brings it to you, you have the right to reject it or even accept it if you have anywhere you also could use it. But once it is a legal tender then you have no right to refuse the currency