Is bitcoin gradually turning away from its purpose?

[Finestream]

Like the title explained it all when sighting towards the speculation or trade discussion section I mostly found out that lots of people are gradually turn away the purpose of bitcoin to mainly investment purposes and I mean to asked, was bitcoin created for investment purpose or it's for peer to peer to alternate fiat?

I would love to see different versions of input.

While bitcoin has a stated purpose, this does not mean that it is the only thing you can do with it, besides it is not as if this exclusive to bitcoin, every single good out there can be used to speculate with and become an asset in the process.

And when even fiat currencies are subject to speculation, I do not see how it could be possible for bitcoin to not go through the same process as well, so just let it go and accept it, since there is nothing we can do to stop this anyway.

Sticking to one goal for bitcoin might be hardly impossible since not everyone of us has the same mindset and goals with bitcoin. Although Satoshi has introduced bitcoin as a digital currency, but if we can do more than that and still put us having the highest benefits, why not? After all, bitcoin is freedom, which only means as long as bitcoin is capable to do it without the interruption of any other third party most particularly the government, then it will never go against with bitcoin feature. So just don’t bother to raise an issue with bitcoin as an investment.

[Yatsan]

Like the title explained it all when sighting towards the speculation or trade discussion section I mostly found out that lots of people are gradually turn away the purpose of bitcoin to mainly investment purposes and I mean to asked, was bitcoin created for investment purpose or it's for peer to peer to alternate fiat?

I would love to see different versions of input.

We cannot blame people on how are they using Bitcoin whether it is for investment or currency purposes. What matters is that Bitcoin grows as a cryptocirrency both in value and popularity. Many people are taking advantage of its volatile market price and there's nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, many countries are still not widely accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment, so what's their choice then? Would it be better if they will just wait for its adoption? Ask yourself as well, are you using cryptocurrencies on most of your transactions? With high fees?

There are lots of room for improvement on blockchain technology and we'll get there someday. For now it would be best to make use of cryptocurrencies the way you will benefit whether as a user or an investor. As long as you aren't using it on illegal transactions then you're good to go.

[Kelward]

I believe the primary purpose of Bitcoin is to decentralize currency, making it accessible to everyone globally, enabling fast and anonymous transactions. In the long run, investing in Bitcoin appears to be a viable use, as holding through bull markets tends to be more profitable than using it solely for transactions.

I believe that Bitcoin, is not turning from it's original purpose, instead it is diversifying and becoming more innovative, meaning that it's added investment features is what is making it's adoption to be growing faster. Why it seems like the original p2p intention of Satoshi Nakamoto, for creating Bitcoin, is turning away from it's purpose is because hodling it for investment is more profitable, but that doesn't mean that people are no longer using it for p2p to make payments for transactions.

Although because people hodl Bitcoin more for investment, they hardly use it for payments, they'd rather use fiat, but I believe that if more businesses starts to accept Bitcoin, as payment, it will encourage more hodlers to be making payments with it.

[Kelward]

I believe the primary purpose of Bitcoin is to decentralize currency, making it accessible to everyone globally, enabling fast and anonymous transactions. In the long run, investing in Bitcoin appears to be a viable use, as holding through bull markets tends to be more profitable than using it solely for transactions.

I believe that Bitcoin, is not turning from it's original purpose, instead it is diversifying and becoming more innovative, meaning that it's added investment features is what is making it's adoption to be growing faster. Why it seems like the original p2p intention of Satoshi Nakamoto, for creating Bitcoin, is turning away from it's purpose is because hodling it for investment is more profitable, but that doesn't mean that people are no longer using it for p2p to make payments for transactions.

Although because people hodl Bitcoin more for investment, they hardly use it for payments, they'd rather use fiat, but I believe that if more businesses starts to accept Bitcoin, as payment, it will encourage more hodlers to be making payments with it.

[Synchronice]

Like the title explained it all when sighting towards the speculation or trade discussion section I mostly found out that lots of people are gradually turn away the purpose of bitcoin to mainly investment purposes and I mean to asked, was bitcoin created for investment purpose or it's for peer to peer to alternate fiat?

I would love to see different versions of input.

Bitcoin is both. Bitcoin was created for the purpose of making a peer-to-peer transactions without the help of 3rd party in the process but this, besides many other positive sides, is the reason why it became a perfect investment choice. Just look at this, created 15 years ago, the limited supply of 21 million Bitcoins, coin with no $ value goes up to tens of thousands of dollars. Now you see, many people see Bitcoin as a great investment option and don't care about the other positive sides and functionalities that Bitcoin carries and that's pretty normal. Not everyone cares about decentralization, improved privacy, security and so on. Many people value ROI because finances matter in 21th century. Bitcoin still carries it's purpose, simply, people prefer to invest and automatically you think that it gradually turned away to mainly investment purpose.

[Webetcoins]

Like the title explained it all when sighting towards the speculation or trade discussion section I mostly found out that lots of people are gradually turn away the purpose of bitcoin to mainly investment purposes and I mean to asked, was bitcoin created for investment purpose or it's for peer to peer to alternate fiat?

Bitcoin was initially created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system intended to replace traditional fiat currencies for everyday transactions.
Due to the volatility and appreciation of Bitcoin as we pass the West, people are increasingly adopting Bitcoin as an investment asset. Consider using it for transactional use as well as for future savings.

So we can say that the original purpose of Bitcoin has not changed but people have started to think and view Bitcoin differently. It is being used for future planning and people are starting to trust Bitcoin more and more to keep their large amounts of money safe for a long time and get double, or triple benefits from it.

[chigo]

We cannot blame people on how are they using Bitcoin whether it is for investment or currency purposes. What matters is that Bitcoin grows as a cryptocirrency both in value and popularity. Many people are taking advantage of its volatile market price and there's nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, many countries are still not widely accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment, so what's their choice then? Would it be better if they will just wait for its adoption? Ask yourself as well, are you using cryptocurrencies on most of your transactions? With high fees?
-cut-

It is the choice of people to want to use bitcoin as their transaction or as their investment/trading, and both of these things will not make bitcoin deviate from its intended purpose, because it is the same as when people trade fiat on forex, it will not deviate from the purpose of fiat as a transaction tool. So this does not need to be too much of a problem, because it is as simple as people want to seek profit on the increase and decrease of the price of bitcoin and there is nothing wrong with that.

[legiteum]

Bitcoin was initially created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system intended to replace traditional fiat currencies for everyday transactions.

That is exactly false.

Bitcoin was never intended to replace everyday transactions, and the blockchain architecture makes anything close to that absolutely impossible.

Bitcoin was invented to give people a way to transfer value who could not safely use normal means. Satoshi never intended to replace the normal banking system, and he would have looked like an idiot if that's what he said he was trying to do since it's technically impossible.

[Abiky]

Wall Street will find ways to manipulate bitcoin as much as possible but they won't be foolish enough to make it completely centralized because if they did, many people would abandon bitcoin and it would become less attractive. I think they understand that the decentralized nature is the key factor that makes people interested in it. But if they turn it into a centralized asset and people lose interest and even leave it, their control over it will also become useless, IMO.

Regarding CBDC, I don't care much and am not worried because it is just a digital version of fiat. Fiat has no impact on crypto, so I also believe that CBDC will have no impact on crypto either.

The thing is most people don't care about decentralization. They're only after what's most convenient for them. If Bitcoin becomes centralized, the masses will carry on as if nothing happened. It's all about making money these days. Gone are the days when the industry "sticked" to Bitcoin's true principles. Satoshi would've been very disappointed by now.

We've moved one step backwards by entrusting middlemen with our BTC. Now they hold "all of the cards" to manipulate (or influence) Bitcoin as they wish. With the approval of spot ETFs, institutional investment companies will buy most of the circulating supply. They can even use their money to build huge mining farms and participate in network consensus. Will things change for the better in the future? I doubt it. Nothing is set in stone, so lets hope for the best.

[Asiska02]

Like the title explained it all when sighting towards the speculation or trade discussion section I mostly found out that lots of people are gradually turn away the purpose of bitcoin to mainly investment purposes and I mean to asked, was bitcoin created for investment purpose or it's for peer to peer to alternate fiat?

I would love to see different versions of input.

The purpose of bitcoin is clearly explained and it’s for the use as alternative to the traditional fiat currency. Overtime because of the other secondary benefits of having bitcoin, people have now delve into the investment aspect of it and that has made bitcoin a more recognisable and recommended asset to be invested in. It can’t move away from its main purpose, it just will suit more what the person wants to use it for and it’s all good in both ways. Its volatile nature that gave it the investable value is what a lot of people have leverage on and it’s the best for it, because it has encouraged more use and adoption of it while maintaining its decentralized system.

[legendbtc]

Wall Street will find ways to manipulate bitcoin as much as possible but they won't be foolish enough to make it completely centralized because if they did, many people would abandon bitcoin and it would become less attractive. I think they understand that the decentralized nature is the key factor that makes people interested in it. But if they turn it into a centralized asset and people lose interest and even leave it, their control over it will also become useless, IMO.

Regarding CBDC, I don't care much and am not worried because it is just a digital version of fiat. Fiat has no impact on crypto, so I also believe that CBDC will have no impact on crypto either.

The thing is most people don't care about decentralization. They're only after what's most convenient for them. If Bitcoin becomes centralized, the masses will carry on as if nothing happened. It's all about making money these days. Gone are the days when the industry "sticked" to Bitcoin's true principles. Satoshi would've been very disappointed by now.

We've moved one step backwards by entrusting middlemen with our BTC. Now they hold "all of the cards" to manipulate (or influence) Bitcoin as they wish. With the approval of spot ETFs, institutional investment companies will buy most of the circulating supply. They can even use their money to build huge mining farms and participate in network consensus. Will things change for the better in the future? I doubt it. Nothing is set in stone, so lets hope for the best.

Given what's going on, you're not wrong in saying that most people don't care about decentralization, privacy, but not all. There are still some people who are concerned about privacy and the decentralized nature of bitcoin such as those on this forum. There is nothing wrong with people caring a lot about profits and money because without money, what good is privacy? Like who will care about the homeless and the poor? But I think at some point, when people have acquired a bit of wealth, they will care more about privacy because they certainly will not want that hard-earned money to be controlled by the government or a third party.

Things will not change for the better in the future but I believe it is also unlikely that bitcoin will become completely centralized because there will always be a demand for that and that is what makes bitcoin so special.

[dezoel]

Bitcoin was initially created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system intended to replace traditional fiat currencies for everyday transactions.

That is exactly false.

Bitcoin was never intended to replace everyday transactions, and the blockchain architecture makes anything close to that absolutely impossible.

Bitcoin was invented to give people a way to transfer value who could not safely use normal means. Satoshi never intended to replace the normal banking system, and he would have looked like an idiot if that's what he said he was trying to do since it's technically impossible.

Yes; indeed, bitcoin was not created to replace the banking system but to allow money to flow more securely from one person to another and to avoid bank jingles. Bitcoin was introduced to avoid high inquiries and high fees. The main thing to keep in mind is the fast service and it is also true that the faster you can transfer your large amount of money to another person through Bitcoin, the banks can't deliver that fast, and Bitcoin is one of the fastest ways to transfer money in the world right now.

For example, if you are going to the bank and want to send 10 million dollars to someone, how much time do you think it will take to send it from one bank to another person's bank? If you send the same transaction through Bitcoin, it will take you only a few minutes and your message will reach the other person and no one will know, only you or the person you have sent it to. So the main purpose of Bitcoin is to provide financial privacy and decentralization and that purpose stays.

[Fiasem20]

Bitcoin is clearly defined on the whitepaper that it's a decentralized form of currency that enables it users to carry out transaction without a third party.So the purpose of Bitcoin still remain what it is till date,users only make their choice on how profitable to use Bitcoin,it's a choice of a bitcoiner to decide whether to make payments online with his coin or to invest on it.Let's us just assume that the fiat that is used for making transactions has a bull moment if it's held for a long term, majority would definitely want hold onto it because of how beneficial it would be in the long term and it doesn't also change the actual purpose.But unfortunately fiats doesn't have a bull moment, that why I stated it clearly that it's an assumption.

[legiteum]

Bitcoin was introduced to avoid high inquiries and high fees.

High inquires, yes. High fees, no. Bitcoin transactions can cost up to $50 these days, which is more than most wire transfers. And at the level you are talking about, nobody would care much about the price in any case. Satoshi very intentionally designed Bitcoin to be slow and expensive (a.k.a. the proof-of-work model).

The main thing to keep in mind is the fast service and it is also true that the faster you can transfer your large amount of money to another person through Bitcoin, the banks can't deliver that fast, and Bitcoin is one of the fastest ways to transfer money in the world right now.

For example, if you are going to the bank and want to send 10 million dollars to someone, how much time do you think it will take to send it from one bank to another person's bank? If you send the same transaction through Bitcoin, it will take you only a few minutes and your message will reach the other person and no one will know, only you or the person you have sent it to. So the main purpose of Bitcoin is to provide financial privacy and decentralization and that purpose stays.

You are correct that the original goal of Bitcoin was to allow people to transfer value in such a way that it could not be tracked by governments. (That is no longer technically true since there is chain analysis).

But almost nobody has a real need to transfer millions of dollars secretly. Indeed, in virtually every valid business scenario, the counterparties of a transfer of that size very much want to be identified in a real way such that there is legal force behind the transfer, not just a technical detail.

Most people don't want to conflict with their government, either out of fear of being caught or plain honesty. For those people, bank transfers work just fine for large amounts of money.

And for small amounts of money (viz. under $10,000), Bitcoin (and blockchain generally) is not technically suitable.

So without Bitcoin's original purpose meaning anything anymore, Bitcoin's only purpose in life today is that of a meme investment instrument.