Ron Paul says Bitcoin is not "True Money".

[zzojar]

If you can't buy a shitty hamburger at McDonald's with it, then it must not be a currency. Who dafuck really cares if it is currency or not?

[Bit_Happy]

When asked why he thinks bitcoin does not fit the definition of money, Paul said it is his personal opinion, but that it should be irrelevant in the big scheme of things.

“Though I don’t personally believe that bitcoin is true money, it should be perfectly legal and there should be no restrictions on it, there should be no taxes on it. The people who operate bitcoin would, of course, be prohibited from committing fraud but the people should be able to have competition whether it is a basket of commodities or crypto-currencies – it should be perfectly legal,” said Paul.

Did I miss something, or is it correct that Ron Paul doesn't say exactly why he thinks BTC is not "True Money"?

[keithers]

I think it is almost like a PR stunt now for politicians to drop the word "bitcoin" into their speeches/press releases.   They know that it will get their names into the headlines and will get a lot of people talking about them (good or bad).   I mean really...how many people here would have even murmured the name Ron Paul if he had not dissed bitcoin?

[apsvinet]

In due time they'll realize they're wrong, until then they have to convince the Common Joe that the only real currency there is are the ones established already.

[keithers]

Most humans in general are creatures of habit...anything that threatens the norm is considered bad and viewed negatively.   This is especially true with older generations, as they are the last fond of new changes and technology (unless it deals with preventing baldness or erectile dysfunction)

[apsvinet]

Most humans in general are creatures of habit...anything that threatens the norm is considered bad and viewed negatively.   This is especially true with older generations, as they are the last fond of new changes and technology (unless it deals with preventing baldness or erectile dysfunction)

Yup, and when we're that age we'll surely do the same thing, as previous generations -all- have done. But without change, nothing has the potential to get better. If people are skeptical to bitcoins now, how skeptical weren't people to the internet?

[bitcerto]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

[apsvinet]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

[jonald_fyookball]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

also Ron Paul is a rare political figure, one of the very few who actually had the best interests of
the American people in mind, so his opinion is generally respected among a certain segment
of the population.

[apsvinet]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

also Ron Paul is a rare political figure, one of the very few who actually had the best interests of
the American people in mind, so his opinion is generally respected among a certain segment
of the population.

Ah, I can't really say anything about that as I'm not American myself and really don't have any knowledge about it. If that's the case it might be a bit disappointing that he's making statements about something he clearly doesn't know a lot about.

[jonald_fyookball]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

also Ron Paul is a rare political figure, one of the very few who actually had the best interests of
the American people in mind, so his opinion is generally respected among a certain segment
of the population.

Ah, I can't really say anything about that as I'm not American myself and really don't have any knowledge about it. If that's the case it might be a bit disappointing that he's making statements about something he clearly doesn't know a lot about.

No, Like I said, and others have said here:  He probably said it with fingers crossed behind his back, nod nod wink wink.

[apsvinet]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

also Ron Paul is a rare political figure, one of the very few who actually had the best interests of
the American people in mind, so his opinion is generally respected among a certain segment
of the population.

Ah, I can't really say anything about that as I'm not American myself and really don't have any knowledge about it. If that's the case it might be a bit disappointing that he's making statements about something he clearly doesn't know a lot about.

No, Like I said, and others have said here:  He probably said it with fingers crossed behind his back, nod nod wink wink.

Excuse my ignorance in that case but what on earth would he earn from doing so in the first place then? Show the Bitcoin community that he knows without being too obvious?

[jonald_fyookball]

My question is why does this matter?

Posted From bitcointalk.org Android App

Bitcoin getting mentioned in the media is always interesting. It doesn't change anything, but it's still interesting to discuss.

also Ron Paul is a rare political figure, one of the very few who actually had the best interests of
the American people in mind, so his opinion is generally respected among a certain segment
of the population.

Ah, I can't really say anything about that as I'm not American myself and really don't have any knowledge about it. If that's the case it might be a bit disappointing that he's making statements about something he clearly doesn't know a lot about.

No, Like I said, and others have said here:  He probably said it with fingers crossed behind his back, nod nod wink wink.

Excuse my ignorance in that case but what on earth would he earn from doing so in the first place then? Show the Bitcoin community that he knows without being too obvious?

It could be that...it could be (like someone else said), no one would pick up the story if he didn't spin it a little bit... It could be that Ron Paul endorsing bitcoin
would be so huge that it would attract an unwanted amount of controversy (this is what I believe).  Or, I could be wrong entirely, and he really doesn't think it is true money.
Maybe by true money, he means government issued (fiat) money. 

[Lethn]

When asked why he thinks bitcoin does not fit the definition of money, Paul said it is his personal opinion, but that it should be irrelevant in the big scheme of things.

“Though I don’t personally believe that bitcoin is true money, it should be perfectly legal and there should be no restrictions on it, there should be no taxes on it. The people who operate bitcoin would, of course, be prohibited from committing fraud but the people should be able to have competition whether it is a basket of commodities or crypto-currencies – it should be perfectly legal,” said Paul.

Did I miss something, or is it correct that Ron Paul doesn't say exactly why he thinks BTC is not "True Money"?

Quite a few people in the Austrian school including Ron Paul believe that money needs to originate from the marketplace as a commodity first in order to be a currency, regardless of people disagreements with him including mine he's one of the few people to realise that if there's no fraud involved then why do people care? Given the history of currencies itself where we've used everything from shells, feathers to sticks with marks on them as currency I think both economic viewpoints are far too narrow minded in their definition which is why when something new like Bitcoin has come along a lot of the older people are struggling to get it.

I do like the Austrian economists more than the neo-keynesians for sure because they at least live in the real world and don't treat economics like it's some kind of religion.

[keithers]

Most humans in general are creatures of habit...anything that threatens the norm is considered bad and viewed negatively.   This is especially true with older generations, as they are the last fond of new changes and technology (unless it deals with preventing baldness or erectile dysfunction)

Yup, and when we're that age we'll surely do the same thing, as previous generations -all- have done. But without change, nothing has the potential to get better. If people are skeptical to bitcoins now, how skeptical weren't people to the internet?

Lol, yeah once we are old and wrinkly...we will probably be clinging on to Bitcoin when there is something new and much better by then.   Hopefully not though...maybe we will be looking back at these forums and discussing the good old days and how we amassed a fortune

[apsvinet]

Most humans in general are creatures of habit...anything that threatens the norm is considered bad and viewed negatively.   This is especially true with older generations, as they are the last fond of new changes and technology (unless it deals with preventing baldness or erectile dysfunction)

Yup, and when we're that age we'll surely do the same thing, as previous generations -all- have done. But without change, nothing has the potential to get better. If people are skeptical to bitcoins now, how skeptical weren't people to the internet?

Lol, yeah once we are old and wrinkly...we will probably be clinging on to Bitcoin when there is something new and much better by then.   Hopefully not though...maybe we will be looking back at these forums and discussing the good old days and how we amassed a fortune

Haha, I'm expecting exactly this to happen, a new currency that's even more superior than bitcoin, and we'll refuse to use it.

[Satosh¡ Slot]

Ron Paul also says that Bitcoin should be perfectly legal on not taxed. This should be the headline instead.

[apsvinet]

Ron Paul also says that Bitcoin should be perfectly legal on not taxed. This should be the headline instead.

It's not as interesting though and wouldn't start a discussion like this one did.

[Dr.Zaius]

Ron Paul is right. Bitcoin presently is not money.

Why?

Money has to be very marketable. What does this mean? It means if you exchange large amounts of money for goods,services it's value does not plunge. The marginal utility of whatever is money has to be high. Bitcoin does not pass this test. When even a small amount of bitcoins enter the market the bid/ask spread begins to widen insanely.

Money needs to extinguish debts. What does this mean? Settlement. Simply put almost nobody is settling anything in bitcoin. People accept BTC only because they can be instantly exchanged into dollars. Bitcoin is a conduit to access fiat liquidity pools, not to settle anything. Couple nerds maybe settling their tiny debts here and there in BTC.

Money needs to be able to measure value. What cost X BTC now may cost 1/3 BTC even tomorrow. Economic calculation is next to impossible in bitcoin. The value swings are too wide to even know what it will be worth in an hour. Bitcoin's value has fluctuated from +20 -60% since Jan 1st. This is an annual inflation rate of something like 150%.

Bitcoin does not pass any of those three tests to be even remotely considered money. It is the equivalent of tokens that access fiat bid's at this point in time.

[Razick]

every government employee will lead you to believe that only legal tender is true money..

that does not mean that bitcoin is anything less. it just means that governments wont accept it to pay taxes.

nothing to get hyped up about..

I don't think he meant it that way. Ron Paul is one of the biggest allies among the Feds that we've got. He supports Bitcoin. I think he was referring to the way it's used more than anything else. It's not as stable and established (yet) as what he might consider "true money."