Will bitcoin be a unit of account?

[peter0425]

What is a Unit of account?

• A unit of account is a standard numerical monetary unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions.
• Money as a unit of account means that money is divisible, countable, and fungible.

Willy woo says here that stablecoins are the key to making bitcoin a unit of account. My  initial questions are: (1) Isn’t bitcoin already a unit of account? (2) If not, then what will it need to be one? (3) Why are stablecoins the key to making bitcoin a unit of account?


To answer: [1] We know that globally, almost everyone still thinks in fiat. They measure value of things by USD mostly and not yet in bitcoin. [2] But the thing is until bitcoin stabilizes enough for the value to not be so volatile, people might never use bitcoin as a unit of account. They can’t use bitcoin as the standard because it always fluctuates. [3] Willy Woo believes that stablecoins are the way to make bitcoin a unit of account. It allows people to practice transactions on chain while still letting themselves be comfortable with the use of fiat. Somehow he thinks this will lead to bitcoin being a unit of account.

My question for you would be, is it really necessary for bitcoin to be a unit of account? Do you wish to see the time where people talk in bitcoin when talking about goods and services they paid for?

[tbct_mt2]

Why are stablecoins the key to making bitcoin a unit of account?

Bitcoin is Bitcoin and better than stablecoins so Bitcoin does not need stablecoins or need them to become a unit of account.

With Bitcoin, you have Bitcoin private key (with non custodial wallets), and you have your own bank, own unit of account without any need of stable coins.

Stablecoins are very dangerous and if you don't know
PSA: Most Stablecoins Can Be Frozen, Even in Your Own Wallets.
Stable coin and black lists.

[joniboini]

I'd love to see it tbh. If people can easily refer to sats whenever they want to trade stuff, it would be cool. On the flipside, it means we probably won't see any significant price changes in Bitcoin, which probably isn't ideal if you're here for the 10x pump.

At the end of the day, I'm not going to argue that something can be called this or that if we don't even know the standard for it. Some stores already use Bitcoin to represent their product price, so that's already cool (although most of them probably liquidate their sats asap because the volatility is dangerous for them). I just want to see more stores do that slowly.

[d5000]

We know that globally, almost everyone still thinks in fiat. They measure value of things by USD mostly and not yet in bitcoin.

Yes and no. Fiat value isn't that important for people than purchasing power. Let's say someone gets their salary in BTC. They'll ask things like: Can I pay my rent with less than half of the salary? Can I eat until the end of the month with the remaining BTC? Bitcoin definitely fluctuates too much in comparison to goods to be an unit of account.

Willy Woo believes that stablecoins are the way to make bitcoin a unit of account. It allows people to practice transactions on chain while still letting themselves be comfortable with the use of fiat.

I agree with the argument that "practice" with on-chain assets like stablecoins isn't bad. But I don't believe in an automatism, that Bitcoin then will also "naturally" become an unit of account. Stablecoin handling is too similar to e-money like Paypal, and e-money is already around since the 90s.

My impression is that the evolution towards an unit of account could be come more from things like Bitcoin donations. People can start to donate 0.001 or 0.0001 BTC to a charity of their choice, and then slowly become accustomed to these amounts. Also Lightning could help: if you open a channel for a certain amount of Bitcoins, you get a feeling how much you can pay with your channel capacity.

Merchants could also help, for example creating promotional campaigns with things they sell for round Bitcoin amounts.

BTW, signature campaigns in this forum were in the past one of the few activities where BTC worked as the unit of account. This has not been very popular recently, even if Bitcoin's volatility isn't as high as before.

My question for you would be, is it really necessary for bitcoin to be a unit of account?

It is IMO not strictly necessary, because Bitcoin can also continue to live as a more niche speculative asset. But to evolve towards a more serious one, I think it could be helpful once the volatility approaches the value of gold (currently, Bitcoin's volatility is 1,5-3x higher).

[tbct_mt2]

I'd love to see it tbh. If people can easily refer to sats whenever they want to trade stuff, it would be cool. On the flipside, it means we probably won't see any significant price changes in Bitcoin, which probably isn't ideal if you're here for the 10x pump.

Bitcoin is different than shitcoins and Bitcoin, to emphasize, is not a pump and dump coin. Shitcoins are pump and dump while Bitcoin is not and will never be.

If you enter Bitcoin market in 2025, 10x is possible but it surely won't come from a pump and dump game. You can say it is possible 10x growth of Bitcoin price from 2025 price. Saying 10x pump is confusing and also makes Bitcoin somewhat similar to shitcoins.

[348Judah]

Willy woo says here that stablecoins are the key to making bitcoin a unit of account. My  initial questions are: (1) Isn’t bitcoin already a unit of account? (2) If not, then what will it need to be one? (3) Why are stablecoins the key to making bitcoin a unit of account?

Before i could say anything, maybe we should first here out what wiki have to say about unit of account, compare on the various definitions there and try to related it to what bitcoin stand for.

As for your first question, the answer is Yes, it is.

The unit of account in financial accounting refers to the words used to describe the specific assets and liabilities that are reported in financial statements rather than the units used to measure them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_of_account

My question for you would be, is it really necessary for bitcoin to be a unit of account?

Bitcoin is seen as a good store of value, which we can have our assets in, this shows how it has a multi-applicable use and still stand as a unit of account.

Do you wish to see the time where people talk in bitcoin when talking about goods and services they paid for?

Bitcoin is used as legal tender in some countries, we can make payment in it, store it, pay for goods and services, it has every characteristics an acceptable currency can be identified, we can buy and sell using bitcoin, but just that some government never realized this, while the people already are using what they wanted without waiting for thier approval before use.

[m2017]

My question for you would be, is it really necessary for bitcoin to be a unit of account?

Whether it is necessary or not, we (more likely) will not see bitcoin as a unit of account. At least in the form that most bitcoiners expect. Namely, as a means of everyday payments, like fiat money. This place will definitely be taken by CBDCs of various countries. Perhaps bitcoin will become a unit of account between countries, but certainly not between individuals.

Do you wish to see the time where people talk in bitcoin when talking about goods and services they paid for?

Well, actually, that time was in the past and even now, sometimes people make purchases for bitcoin. Of course, in very small volumes, but it happens.

But I expect that in the future we will not be able to see this, because in most countries, Bitcoin will be banned from being used as a means of payment. Under the standard pretexts of horror stories.

[Ambatman]

The likelihood of Bitcoin becoming a unit of account is low because of the same reason the Gold standard was stopped
And Gold stopped being a unit of account
That is, it was not suitable for making monetary policy
In summary, you can't print more when you want more.

The government needs Fiat to control maintain the economy.
I would say Co-existence could be possible but the government wouldn't want a sword of Damocles like Bitcoin challenging their control.
For now being a Store of Value is noted
Maybe as time goes on there would be changes in perception.

[Ivystar5]

My question for you would be, is it really necessary for bitcoin to be a unit of account?

It is IMO not strictly necessary, because Bitcoin can also continue to live as a more niche speculative asset. But to evolve towards a more serious, I think it could be helpful once the volatility approaches the value of gold (currently, Bitcoin's volatility is 1,5-3x higher).

Right! Bitcoin as a speculative asset seem to balance more than a competitive asset or currency as fiat, the core tenants of bitcoin are majorly a viz vice currency never to be an over shadowing currency, only for the 1% individuals who are obviously tired of the fair manipulation and printing. Bitcoin being a unit of account will more likely help if only it has a spot light in usage a long side with fiat or possibly having a low volatility. However, the idea of being a speculative asset has brought it this far, hence I think we are not in competition with fiat instead we want it's as an asset and a currency that works Viz vice to fiat.

[Sanitough]

We haven’t reached that level yet since bitcoin is still not declared as legal currency, which is the basic requirement for it to be considered a proper unit of account. Because of its volatility, that’s not possible for now.

At this point, bitcoin mainly serves as a store of value, people hold it believing its price will increase in the future. Yes, it can be used as a medium of exchange, but adoption is still low compared to fiat. So for now, we’re stuck at this stage.

[PrivacyG]

The farther we get from when Bitcoin launched, the less likely Bitcoin becomes a unit of account in my opinion.  All these wet dreams of Bitcoin becoming the world wide currency providing free banking to the unbanked at little to no costs et cetera are pretty much gone and who ever still has dreams for it still does not see the harsh truth.

Bitcoin will be the hero in many circumstances.  Bitcoin will provide banking to the unbanked.  Bitcoin will not be controlled and will not require Know Your Customer.  But it will never be what this guy wants particularly for all these reasons.  When there is opportunity for power, there will be people willing to fight all they can for it.

[Darker45]

Honestly, it's hard to think of Bitcoin as a unit of account, outside the backdrop of fiat. Can anybody imagine 1BTC as 1BTC and not as 1BTC is equal to $110,000 or €95,000? Say, you're selling something. How would you assign a Bitcoin price to that without fiat in mind? Are we picking the value out of thin air?

Or do we have to take a look at available coins on Bitcoin stores and adjust the price accordingly? Hell, there isn't even a store or exchange, to begin with, because what would you use to buy Bitcoin, then? Or do we have to track the circulating supply to adjust the prices of goods and services?

Seriously, how does a Bitcoin economy really work? The ones we have today are all founded on fiat. There's a fiat price and then its equivalent to Sats or Bitcoin is assigned.

[crwth]

It's ideal to have it as a unit of account, but to achieve a great application of this, it should be automated or understood that it's in "Satoshis". It's challenging if you're using BTC or mBTC, especially for those who are non-tech savvy or relatively new to crypto, but it's a learning curve.

Perhaps, if the technological infrastructure supports it, automation would suffice, and deductions for taxes purchased with it would be easy.

[SilverCryptoBullet]

It's ideal to have it as a unit of account, but to achieve a great application of this, it should be automated or understood that it's in "Satoshis". It's challenging if you're using BTC or mBTC, especially for those who are non-tech savvy or relatively new to crypto, but it's a learning curve.

Perhaps, if the technological infrastructure supports it, automation would suffice, and deductions for taxes purchased with it would be easy.

It's not hard to learn about Bitcoin units and in practice, there are some most popularly used units like bitcoins, satoshis, millibitcoins mBTC.

In addition, with Bitcoin wallet softwares, there are options in wallet settings for choosing which Bitcoin unit you want to display in the wallet. Again, it's not hard to learn for customize your wallet settings.

Units (Bitcoinwiki).
[Did you know?] Bitcoin Table of Units.

[BlockNomad]

I don’t think Bitcoin needs to be a unit of account to succeed. Right now it works well as a store of value, and people are comfortable thinking in USD while holding BTC.

For it to become a real unit of account, volatility has to drop and adoption has to grow. Stablecoins are like a bridge for now — people can use crypto rails but still think in fiat terms.

Maybe one day we’ll price coffee in sats, but even if that takes decades, Bitcoin can still fulfill its role just fine.

[X-ray]

Of course when the whole world adopt bitcoin and even use it for international trade, it will be a unit of account not only for just a country but for any country around the world. Only matter of when.

As of now, fiat still serves that purpose. With the growth rate of bitcoin though. Here hoping someday we will see satoshi as unit account. Satoshi as a unit will matter much more when BTC is getting more expensive.

[davis196]

Bitcoin cannot turn into a stablecoin because of it's scarcity. This leads to unstable price and increased volatility. A stablecoin must have way lower scarcity. Maybe this guy from Twitter wants a stablecoin, that is backed with gold or oil(but the price with volatility remains).
There simply isn't a financial asset or a commodity, that has perfect price stability. Even gold doesn't have a perfectly stable price.
Making Bitcoin a unit of account(or standard measurement) won't change anything. Bitcoin will remain as volatile as it used to be. Declaring Bitcoin a unit of account won't miraculously make the BTC price stable and cause Bitcoin's volatility to disappear.
Also, dreaming about a non-KYC stablecoin is delusional, if you ask me. KYC is here to stay and the governments would become even more aggressive when imposing KYC policies.

[fuguebtc]

Of course when the whole world adopt bitcoin and even use it for international trade, it will be a unit of account not only for just a country but for any country around the world. Only matter of when.

As of now, fiat still serves that purpose. With the growth rate of bitcoin though. Here hoping someday we will see satoshi as unit account. Satoshi as a unit will matter much more when BTC is getting more expensive.

The question is whether that can happen, and honestly, I don’t think it will happen. Superpowers like the United States that rule the world with the dollar will never let that happen because it would shake their power. Or will face opposition from other superpowers because everyone wants their national currency to be the world's main currency because that's how they rule the world.

Bitcoin is growing and gaining popularity at a rapid pace but let's be realistic, it is becoming known and recognized as an asset (digital gold) rather than a currency. Therefore, for me, the possibility of bitcoin becoming a unit of account is very low if not impossible.

[viljy]

Willy woo says here that stablecoins are the key to making bitcoin a unit of account. My  initial questions are: (1) Isn’t bitcoin already a unit of account? (2) If not, then what will it need to be one? (3) Why are stablecoins the key to making bitcoin a unit of account?

Bitcoin is not a unit of account because it cannot perform this function due to its volatility. Bitcoin is currently a commodity. Actually, this influencer considers stablecoins to be the key to overcoming bitcoin's volatility. Another question is that the direct mechanism of this is completely incomprehensible (as I understand it, neither does the influencer himself, otherwise he would have written about it).
An indirect economic mechanism for overcoming volatility already exists, and this is the usual conversion of a volatile asset into stablecoins (maintaining purchasing power at a certain level). But this indirect mechanism has both advantages and disadvantages.

As for the second question, it's about the mysterious mechanism of direct conversion of bitcoin into a unit of account through stablecoins. No one, including the influencer himself, knows exactly how to do this, but let's say it happened. What would that mean for the world? Bitcoin as a unit of account means the return of the financial system to the pre-emission era of the gold standard, which in turn means the impossibility of lending (the inability of the bank to issue debt), which supports the distribution of risks of real production. This is essentially the destruction of the economic system that currently exists in the world.

[BitGoba]

Yes, Bitcoin eventually become a unit of account, meaning a standard for expressing value, as it represents a superior form of money. However, this is a process that could take hundreds of years. If you study the history and evolution of money, you’ll notice that every form of money started as a collectible or store of value (SOV), then became a medium of exchange (MOE), and only later a measure of value. Bitcoin is currently mostly a store of value (SOV) and to a lesser extent a medium of exchange (MOE), but over time its adoption and role will continue to evolve.

Stablecoins are not truly stable, and their instability is actually key to Bitcoin adoption.

People are increasingly realizing that stablecoins and fiat currencies are not truly stable and that they lose value relative to Bitcoin due to inflation. As more fiat currencies and stablecoins are created, they will lose value even faster. Even those who previously didn’t pay attention are beginning to understand this, and many will no longer want to hold stablecoins, choosing instead to move to Bitcoin as a more resilient and reliable long-term store of value. Once they switch to Bitcoin, they use it as a medium of exchange (MOE), and over time as a unit of account, meaning a standard for expressing value.