Bitcoin is digital currency or digital gold?

[DanWalker]

Actually, recently seen that they launch a digital gold which is the XAU previously, so now with this still just the convenience it brings is you can now buy and sell instantly your gold without going to a physical shop to sell your hold golds. Well, these stills rely with the current market of gold. Still on the supply and demand but still less volatility and still took over weeks and months before there is a change with the market price. Now if you are into market volatility I'd rather go with the Bitcoin. But having both is better decision.

Are you talking about tokenized gold? In my opinion, this is not digital gold. Because when you own this type of asset, you are really just holding a representative token backed by a promise that real gold is sitting somewhere in the issuer's vault. In reality, you dont actually own that gold.

In essence, tokenized gold is similar to gold ETF, and you dont actually own real gold when you invest in them.

[CageMabok]

...

I think. It could be both a medium of exchange and a store of value. Bitcoin allows instant transactions, has very low fees and its adoption is growing rapidly. Even countries like El Salvador have legalized Bitcoin as a means of transaction, although it's currently ineffective. Furthermore, in countries with high inflation many people use BTC for cross border value transfers because it's considered superior to local fiat currencies. Volatility is true, but over time if mass adoption continues to increase volatility will decrease making Bitcoin suitable as a digital currency. Furthermore, if we look at the history of gold or other fiat currencies, they were also initially volatile.

In terms of store of value Bitcoin even has many advantages over gold. For example, Bitcoin has a limited supply because its supply is programmed, so it cannot be changed arbitrarily. A limited supply makes Bitcoin scarce and Bitcoin is more transparent and difficult to counterfeit.

To be precise, Bitcoin does have more differences than other assets like gold and any fiat currency. So in terms of storing it, it is also different and the influence of its own value will also be very different from gold and other things because Bitcoin was born to provide benefits and advantages that gold does not have, even though assets like gold have been known to many people in this world for a long time. However, at this time, Bitcoin's influence among many people has also been able to bring more changes and has also been able to open the minds of many people to want to buy and store Bitcoin for several purposes, one of which is as a medium of exchange because at this time several countries have legalized it.

[free-bit.co.in]

Before I joined this forum I have study books that related to BTC and other cryptocurrencies but I have not seen where the founder of BTC said BTC is a digital gold

Bitcoin is Bitcoin, and gold is gold, they are different assets. The Bitcoin founder, Satoshi Nakamoto did not say anything that Bitcoin is Digital Gold, which is a term used by Bitcoin community.

In the Bitcoin white paper, Satoshi wrote about Bitcoin as A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

They are different assets, and Satoshi never claimed that Bitcoin was digital gold. However, let's look at the current situation and what Bitcoin is becoming. Do any of us actually use it for its original purpose as currency, or do we all treat it as an investment like gold?

Do not keep clinging to the original concept when reality has already changed in a different direction, and we are the ones who created that change.
You, I, and most people are using Bitcoin as digital gold. How can we deny that it is digital gold when we are the ones hoarding it like gold, holding it like gold?

[BitBrainers]

You, I, and most people are using Bitcoin as digital gold. How can we deny that it is digital gold when we are the ones hoarding it like gold, holding it like gold?

This is the most honest take in the thread. The market already decided. Not Satoshi, not the whitepaper, not the label. The collective behavior of millions of holders treating Bitcoin as something you accumulate and protect rather than spend is the definition of a reserve asset. Labels follow behavior, not the other way around.

[Betwrong]

You, I, and most people are using Bitcoin as digital gold. How can we deny that it is digital gold when we are the ones hoarding it like gold, holding it like gold?

This is the most honest take in the thread. The market already decided. Not Satoshi, not the whitepaper, not the label. The collective behavior of millions of holders treating Bitcoin as something you accumulate and protect rather than spend is the definition of a reserve asset. Labels follow behavior, not the other way around.

Remember Bitcoin pizza story? A guy purchased for 10,000 BTC something worth about $41 then. But this needed to be done. This guy, Laszlo Hanyecz, he's a hero. If Bitcoin wasn't used as a currency, it would have no value and there would be no need to hoard it like gold.

[velvetdream]

I think right now Bitcoin is used more like digital gold than an everyday currency. Most people hold it long term instead of spending it because of the volatility and the idea that it could become more valuable later. But I also think both can exist at the same time maybe as adoption grows and price swings become smaller, Bitcoin could work better as a real currency too.

[AmoreJaz]

I think right now Bitcoin is used more like digital gold than an everyday currency. Most people hold it long term instead of spending it because of the volatility and the idea that it could become more valuable later. But I also think both can exist at the same time maybe as adoption grows and price swings become smaller, Bitcoin could work better as a real currency too.

You can say that because a lot are buying this for the hope of earning a lot of profit. But this coin has been created to serve as digital currency. However, what we have seen throughout the years made this currency a very attractive investment because of its high volatility.

[riscohen4]

Is Bitcoin a store of value or medium of exchange? Or can it be both?

It can be both. You are looking at it at a different point. I think. The most important thing bitcoin has to offer is freedom. Bitcoin over the years has increased in price even with it's constant volatility. That alone should trigger something in you as a very lucrative form of money edging against inflation.

I always thought Bitcoin made more sense as digital gold since it has all the benefits of gold yet none of the defects of gold.
The volatility of Bitcoin makes me feel like it doesn't make sense as a form of digital currency.

Your thought is very correct. And you are looking at the volatility on the negative side. Everything has the both negative and positive side. Bitcoin positive side far out ways the negative side.

I'm open to hear why Bitcoin makes more sense as a digital form of currency.

First of all and the only thing i am going to say is that bitcoin is easy to move around with. You can't do that with gold. You can buy gold now and still look for a bank to store it. But bitcoin, once you have bought it no one will even know you have such with you.

[Popkon6]

Is Bitcoin a store of value or medium of exchange? Or can it be both? I always thought Bitcoin made more sense as digital gold since it has all the benefits of gold yet none of the defects of gold.
The volatility of Bitcoin makes me feel like it doesn't make sense as a form of digital currency. I'm open to hear why Bitcoin makes more sense as a digital form of currency.

Bitcoin is digital gold at the moment and it will be more valuable in the future. You will find the proof that Bitcoin will be more valuable in the future, if you compare the price of Bitcoin in the past with the present, then of course there is a huge difference between them. Because a decade ago, the price of Bitcoin was very low, and its use was limited, but now the price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed and its use has also increased greatly. The further you move towards the future, the more you will see the difference in the price of Bitcoin, and it will gain popularity among people.

[BitBrainers]

Remember Bitcoin pizza story? A guy purchased for 10,000 BTC something worth about $41 then. But this needed to be done. This guy, Laszlo Hanyecz, he's a hero. If Bitcoin wasn't used as a currency, it would have no value and there would be no need to hoard it like gold.

Hanyecz proved Bitcoin had value by spending it. That transaction created the reference point everything else was priced against. Currency and store of value are not opposites. One becomes the other when people trust it enough to stop spending it.

[Minor Miner]

I think right now Bitcoin is used more like digital gold than an everyday currency. Most people hold it long term instead of spending it because of the volatility and the idea that it could become more valuable later. But I also think both can exist at the same time maybe as adoption grows and price swings become smaller, Bitcoin could work better as a real currency too.

You can say that because a lot are buying this for the hope of earning a lot of profit. But this coin has been created to serve as digital currency. However, what we have seen throughout the years made this currency a very attractive investment because of its high volatility.

Honestly, Bitcoin's original purpose is no longer important. Because everyone knows about it, but nobody want to use it for its original purpose. 99% of us just see it as digital gold, hoping to make huge profits and get rich, as you said.

There is nothing wrong with saying that Bitcoin can serve two roles, both as digital currency and digital gold. But in reality, it is used more often as digital gold.

[m2017]

Is Bitcoin a store of value or medium of exchange? Or can it be both?

I would say that bitcoin can be used for more than just these 2 purposes. Add speculation (trading) and a means of avoiding government censorship (making your finances immune to regulatory scrutiny, for example, to avoid sanctions or excessive financial control - for example, prohibiting from transferring your money outside the country above a certain limit).

In fact, there are no clear rules for the (only) "correct" use of bitcoin.

I always thought Bitcoin made more sense as digital gold since it has all the benefits of gold yet none of the defects of gold.

But bitcoin was created for completely different purposes.

The volatility of Bitcoin makes me feel like it doesn't make sense as a form of digital currency. I'm open to hear why Bitcoin makes more sense as a digital form of currency.

It's possible that if the bitcoin's price stabilizes in the future (becomes less volatile), bitcoin may become more widely used as a digital currency (likely at the level of large institutional players, such as major companies and countries).

Here's another argument: even now, there are (not many) merchants who accept bitcoin payments, and volatility doesn't discourage them from using it.

Bitcoin can be used in whatever way is most beneficial to you, even as a digital currency. Over the long term, over a period of years, if you hold onto the bitcoin you receive as payment, the volatility will even out.

[HustleZ]

Hanyecz proved Bitcoin had value by spending it. That transaction created the reference point everything else was priced against. Currency and store of value are not opposites. One becomes the other when people trust it enough to stop spending it.

Laszlo played a big part in showcasing bitcoin’s use. After his transaction he showed that bitcoin fulfilled its purpose of being used as a currency and from then on it is used like it. He demonstrated that we can use it as a currency which is an important part of bitcoin’s history and has pizza day named after it which is celebrated every year on bitcointalk too. Youre right about bitcoin being a store of value and currency, bitcoin is now trusted enough due to its past returns that it is used more as a store of value than it is used as a currency.