Topic: Bitcoin - Asset Or Currency? (Read 552 times)

The answer you looking for is already on the present situations happening with bitcoin and the crypto market, bitcoin is a volatile asset that goes up and down and the real reason why people are buying this asset is that they want to make money out of it and that makes it a complete asset.

Bitcoin can be used as trade by barter because it's a valuable digital currency yes it can be used as money but it's not going to serve the purpose of Fiat currency so it is expected that some areas will accept Bitcoin as means of payment and some will not and there is no crime in this, so my answer is Bitcoin is more of an asset than serving as a currency.

While your viewpoint about Bitcoin's nature as an asset due to its volatile market price is understandable, it's important to recognize that volatility isn't inherently a negative feature. Yes, the value of Bitcoin fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, but this can be seen as an opportunity rather than a setback.

Consider traditional currencies. They are constantly adjusting against each other too, albeit at a much slower rate. The rate of currency exchange changes daily. Bitcoin merely takes this aspect and amplifies it.

Your perspective on Bitcoin as incomplete for use as a fiat currency, like what El Salvador did, is also understandable. However, consider that all technologies were incomplete when they first came into existence. Fiat currency itself underwent several changes before becoming what we use today. As the world adapts to Bitcoin, it's reasonable to expect that Bitcoin will evolve too.

It's surely going to be an asset for sure. Personally, I really think that Bitcoin is an asset I just can't see Bitcoin as a digital currency just because of its nature of volatile market price. Seeing Bitcoin with a volatile market price it's really difficult for it to be a currency that we can use in our daily transactions, volatile market price just means that you need to adjust every time you're going to make a transaction. And there are also a lot of things that you need to consider if you're going to use Bitcoin like on a business etc.

Bitcoin adapts really quickly I think in the future it's always possible that it can adapt as a currency as well but for not even though it is adapted like what EL Salvador did it is still not complete and cannot fully operate like a fiat currency that we are using today. We all invest on Bitcoin because it is an investment in which we could make profit so it is an Asset for most of the investors.

From my own perspective, I believe it all depends on personal understanding and beliefs about Bitcoin determine what we use Bitcoin for but if we go back to what Satoshi said "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.".
This means Bitcoin is money but its mechanism and feature which is the block halving and limited supply give it the potential to be an asset. However, everything depends on what each individual wants to use it for.

Personally, I believe that bitcoin is undoubtedly an asset, despite some efforts made by some forces and states like El Salvador. Bitcoin can be called and positioned as you like, but you need to look at the harsh reality that clearly puts everything in its place. And this reality says that the absolute majority of holders and users of bitcoin use it as an asset. In order to use bitcoin as a currency, you need to make a lot of effort and there is an absolute guarantee that there will be a lot of difficulties and opposition from states on this path, because this can create, in their opinion, potentially dangerous competition for fiat currencies.

I'm surprised you don't know why Bitcoin's current bullish trend started despite the US SEC lawsuit on top exchange and BRC-20/ordinal inscriptions caused huge unconfirmed transactions on the BTC network when the most powerful multi-national investment company in the world known as BlackRock which was said to have the capacity to buy everything ^{(that include any politician in the world)}file for Bitcoin ETF. Technically, this will generate FOMO in the market and yes we already have GrayScale which is already a broker in the crypto market but the bigger seems to be stepping in.

Bitcoin was created to complement Fiat currency and address some of its flaws.

No, people who turn to crypto now or in the future are not against fiat and what they do is move to the alternative to prevent themselves from the future danger sign shown by the fiat currency.

Bitcoin is both. What determines whether it is an asset or currency is what you presently use it for.

It's up to you and each person. For me, it is an asset, a commodity, because I make a profit from trading and holding it. It doesn't matter what Bitcoin is, as long as it benefits you, you can use it to do whatever you want. Many people even consider it their own bank because, with bitcoin's decentralization, they have full control over their assets. There's nothing wrong with treating it as your own bank.

The function of Bitcoin depends on where you place it, if you place Bitcoin as an asset, then Bitcoin will become an asset. When you put Bitcoin as currency, then Bitcoin will become currency. I think bitcoin is very simple, its presence has made it easier for me or anyone who holds Bitcoin to make transactions online at any time. So far Bitcoin has received recognition from its users as an asset and currency, these two functions cannot be separated from Bitcoin.

Yes, bitcoin is both, but we are looking at it as an asset rather than a currency, and I think in the future, people will also know bitcoin as an asset rather than a currency. I don't think too many people will be willing to spend their bitcoin on regular payments because no one wants to waste an asset that will have a very high value in the future. But bitcoin can also be considered an effective alternative payment method if in case we have problems with fiat while traveling or if we do not have fiat available. Bitcoin is a currency as well as an asset.

It seems that your thinking is also quite mature in this regard, because I also think that Bitcoin can indeed be considered as an asset and can also be considered as a currency. Because Bitcoin can be brought into an investment which indicates it is an asset and can also be used to buy goods through websites that accept Bitcoin as payment so on the one hand Bitcoin can also be said to be currency. So this actually really depends on where we use the Bitcoin so that we can give birth to these two assumptions through ourselves.

After 14 years since 2009, with serious losses of fiat currencies' purchasing power and with exponential growth of Bitcoin price, they found that Bitcoin is a good asset.

Nowadays, with high trading volume of Bitcoin, they can more easily to buy and sell bitcoins. Price won't be dumped if they sell their bitcoins on the market and there are OTC markets for whales too.

The adoption of Lightning Network is good recent years and if Bitcoin has good growth, Lightning Network can have better growth because people nowadays are more aware about Bitcoin and it is less vagueness, barriers to convince people using Bitcoin and learning about Lightning Network.

Lightning Network growth last 5 years https://txstats.com/dashboard/db/lightning-network?orgId=1&from=now-5y&to=now

It just evolved though, it was really design as a payment system. But there are individuals who I will say take advantage in the beginning and when bitcoin has a price, then it become a asset.


Yes, hedge against inflation, and store of value too. So there are a lot of uses of bitcoin, so it's up to the individual on how they are going to treat it.


Your argument is invalid though, it's not that complicated, there are countries already who uses LN for fast transactions. And there are still merchants who are accepting it as mode of payment but maybe the numbers right now is not that big.

It's totally understandable to have questions about Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market can be somewhat unpredictable, and yes, there are instances where brokers may influence prices. Regarding your question about Bitcoin being an asset or a currency, it's actually both. Many people see it as a valuable asset to hold, hoping its price will rise. But using it as a daily currency for small transactions can be expensive due to high transaction fees. Don't worry if you don't have a deep understanding yet. It takes time to grasp all the nuances of Bitcoin. Feel free to ask more questions anytime!

True, I like that it can be both and it defines by the person that uses it. For me, it's an asset.

Thank you for your attention. If you feel the question has been asked a lot. You can answer the other questions in this thread


I would be very happy if you could discuss this


I think bitcoin is very easily controlled by rich people. They can buy lots of bitcoins and hold them for the price to go up, once the price goes up they will sell massively and the price goes down. If it is done repeatedly, they will get a lot of profit

Bitcoin is a currency as well as an asset. It is money if you are in El Salvador. Being in an African nation is advantageous. It serves as both a currency and an asset in several other areas. Bitcoin doesn't currently have many use cases, but with time and an increasing rate of acceptance, we will. When my nation was in a recession and inflation was high, I changed my bank wealth into bitcoin a few years ago to prevent it from falling. Here, bitcoin acted as an asset that I could use as a store of wealth and an inflation hedge. When I needed to purchase an item from a foreign country but my country's bank cards were not being accepted, I asked the vendor if they would accept bitcoin at that moment. They complied, and I used bitcoin to pay for the item. Here, I used bitcoin as my medium of exchange. I personally view bitcoin as a currency as well as an asset.

I don't understand why and how you'd ever be forced to choose one of them.

This is the nature of Bitcoin that makes it different from other currencies and for me this is the freedom of the economic system that we aspire to.
Bitcoin may be used as a transaction tool and there is no problem if Bitcoin is used as an investment asset.

Then, when you are faced with two choices, do you think you will use Bitcoin as a currency or an investment asset? because I myself make Bitcoin an investment asset because not all countries in the world legalize Bitcoin as a means of payment including my country.

It gives you the freedom to define it yourself.  If you don't find it useful as a currency, then it's an asset.  If you don't think it will be worth it in the long-term, then it's a volatile experiment that can give you short-term profit.  If you utilize it to buy stuff from the Internet, it's a currency.

You must distinguish between an investment and a store of value entirely different. To me, being a store of value means being stable, not too volatile, and always holding value like gold. Bitcoin is so volatile, and the future is uncertain, how can it be called a store of value or a safe haven?

What makes you so sure that the 4-year cycle will help bitcoin rise in price? Do you have proof, or are you just trying to infer from what history happened? It's all speculation, and nothing is certain, so that's why I don't consider bitcoin a store of value, it's a high-risk speculation.

Everyone considers bitcoin as an asset, and everyone is using it for profit, not just you. But the confusing thing is that many people do not dare to face that fact. If we look at it fairly, bitcoin is treated as an asset rather than a currency. I bet there won't be too many people who want it to stabilize and become a currency, and not too many will still hold bitcoin if it turns out to be a currency without profit. I really consider bitcoin an asset, and I want it to be recognized by everyone, even though that's not what Satoshi created bitcoin for.

Bitcoin can be seen as an alternative at this time for some countries and Bitcoin is still suitable to be considered as an asset not a currency, because there are still many countries that legalize Bitcoin as commodity assets. So the perception of Bitcoin as a currency is not coheran in many countries today, most people who hold bitcoin because they realize that this asset has the ability to maintain value.

Bitcoin is still an alternative and has not been fully used to buy goods, unless you live in El Salvador or spend something using a platform that receives payments using Bitcoin. There is nothing complicated if you want to make a payment using Bitcoin because just enter the amount then send it.

For me, Bitcoin is an asset. It can be both, but I'm buying it to sell at a higher price in the future.

I think bitcoin is an asset not a currency because I bought bitcoin for the purpose of making a profit from the price increase that is happening, the rest I don't think will become a currency because for me it's an impossible thing to happen, if it is a means of payment / alternative payment it might be happen

In general, Bitcoin is a digital currency that has a purpose as a medium of exchange for transactions made online, Bitcoin users are free to make transactions with anyone without a third party regulating their circulation. Apart from that Bitcoin can also be a profitable investment instrument, you can buy Bitcoin for investment or for trading for 24 hours and no holidays.
Bitcoin has shown a lot of potential since its inception, so many people think that Bitcoin will continue to grow in the future. With the promising potential of Bitcoin, it is possible that Bitcoin will become a future medium of exchange that is used globally. So apart from being able to play a role as a currency, Bitcoin is able to attract investors to use it as an investment option.

        Are you considering the option where wealthy people can also have most of the Bitcoins in stock? What will happen then? Again the monopoly of money and power? After all, it turns out the concentration of such assets in one hand.
        In case you haven't noticed, this process has been going on for several years now. Those people who have decent capital are actively buying up a digital asset. As a result, we will come to exactly the same alignment of affairs as today.

Speak for yourself, if you don't believe that Bitcoin can become a global currency then why are you here. Are you here only for the profits you can get from trading Bitcoin with other altcoins or investing in it. What happens when that goes away or reduces because all the Bitcoin has been mined. Satoshi Nakamoto the creator of Bitcoin did so because he wanted we to have an alternative to the centralized system that's in existence that favors only the rich and well connected.

Bitcoin can be classified as both an assets and currency, in the future it'll be recognized as more of a currency contrary to how it's been seen as only an asset at the moment and that's because the government are fighting it and discouraging people from accepting it globally.

When starting the topic you were wondering why Bitcoin has a high price, after I read more of what you wrote on the topic, you have answered your own question on point number two.

On the one hand Bitcoin can be an asset, but on the other hand Bitcoin can also act as a currency. Do you still remember the two Pizza from Papa John, at that time Bitcoin had a role as a currency, It became the first commercial transaction using Bitcoin.
The function of Bitcoin which can be an asset as well as a currency makes it easier for you to make transactions between countries without having to issue large shipments.

Bitcoin can be considered both an asset and a currency, depending on the situation and perspective. As an asset, Bitcoin is a digital currency with some value that can be bought, sold, and held for investment purposes. It is similar to traditional assets like bonds, certificates, or real estate, with its value subject to market rise and fall. On the other hand, Bitcoin can also function as a decentralized digital currency. Bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange for goods and services, and it has gained acceptance as a payment method in different countries as well as on online platforms. Some followers argue that Bitcoin's limited supply makes it an alternative currency that offers benefits regarding transaction fees and faster cross-border transfers. So, by definition, whether Bitcoin is considered primarily an asset or a currency depends on individual perspectives and their specific use.

My assumption is that in the real world Bitcoin is still considered an investment asset and also a commodity asset that can be traded. But if one day in my country Bitcoin can be used as a means of payment then from then on maybe I will consider Bitcoin as currency. But when talking about the internet world. So I also consider Bitcoin as a digital currency in the internet world. so the conclusion is that in the physical world Bitcoin is only a commodity asset but in the internet world Bitcoin is a digital currency.

I agree that today it is more of an asset than a currency but the volatility problem, at least in theory, will be reduced as time goes by and the price and market cap continue to grow. As of today, no. To be able to buy bread, you want a stable currency.

Then, for it to become a real currency there is the problem of scalability. The blockchain cannot support billions doing Bitcoin transactions every day, and LN has its limitations as well. Then we also have Gresham's law, according to which, if several currencies coexist, people tend to spend the bad one and keep the good one. For me there is no doubt that Bitcoin will continue to coexist with fiat currencies/CBDCs/shitcoins, so I think this is also why people will use it mainly as a store of value and not as a currency.

I already asked people here what they think of bitcoin.

The majority belive that it's just an asset and people don't really want to use it as a currency. They just belive that if it will be accepted by companies, then the price will go up. But I don't see the connection because regular people don't use bitcoin and bitcoins don't want to spend it. So I don't think it's gonna help drive the price higher.

I think bitcoin won't become currency simply because people don't see it as a currency and because it's too volatile almost no one will use it because of it. Why will you use bitcoin if it can't drop 5% a day and you lose money that you wanted to spend in a grocery store?

Bitcoin is an asset you can invest your money at anytime and start expecting something that will change your life for good, because it can increase higher today just to allow investors to sell to make something huge from the asset, and it can also decrease to allow investors to buy and hold for bright future. Bitcoin is a currency because you can use it to purchase goods and services in an area where it is legal tender and it is well accepted by the power the government put on ground. Country like El Salvador, they use Bitcoin as a currency to improve their economy and other things that can bring development to the people of El Salvador that they will live to remember.

In my own humble opinion - and I think there is a general consensus on this one - is that Bitcoin is both a currency and an asset. I am defining an asset as anything that has some accepted value in the market so BTC is definitely falling into this category. Now, since Bitcoin can be used as a medium of exchange and is highly traded then it is also acting as a currency. There can be some technical difference subject to debates and differing standpoints but generally no one can argue that it is both currency and asset. As to transaction fees which can be higher than usual, there are now good developments on that aspect so let's join its journey towards massive adoption.

It's still difficult, there is no definite or official agreement on this matter, and discussions will probably last for some time to come.
Because we are still early and still no massive adaption that can really define what really Bitcoin is, it's like the level of acceptance of the majority, or even some governments, that don't consider Bitcoin as regulatory currency.

I think bitcoin is a digital currency, but not everyone, the government and others agree that btc is used as a means of payment.
if in elsalvador btc can already be used as a means of payment.

as a btc investor, of course our want the price of btc to rise and of course it will benefit those who buy btc at lower prices.
I think fiat currency will be needed because we all need fiat money, because the necessities of life can be bought with fiat money.

People have been asking this same question over and over on here over the year and my answer is always the same, and always has been..it's both and asset and a currency.  Currency of ANY kind is an asset.  Anything of value , is an asset.  Just like fiat currency, it's an asset and can be used to buy things ( a currency ).   Bitcoin is an asset, and it can be used to buy thing ( a currency).

There's only one correct answer here and that answer is bitcoin is both an asset and currency, period.

Bitcoin is not only an asset; it's also a currency. I know that currency has the first meaning as "something (money or other items) that is being used to facilitate transactions, and it also means the paper or physical cash." So, Bitcoin can be considered currency in the sense that it's a digital thing that is used to facilitate transactions. It is an asset because it can add extra value to your holdings with being affected by inflation. Some people picture Bitcoin as an asset, while others see it as both a currency and an asset, so I will say that you should just see it as both. What will justify the difference is what you are using it for at that moment. If you are holding it as an investor, it's an asset for you and also a currency because you can make payments with it at that moment. then, It can also only be a currency for someone who is only concerned with using it to fulfill a transaction.


Cheers 🥂, Dr.Bitcoin_Strange 👺👺

Basically Bitcoin is a digital currency and also an asset.  Anyway Bitcoin isn't going to replace fiat fully. Bitcoin makes our transection decentralized, secured and anonymous. It's an alternative currency which have a lot of advantages than fiat. And we all know that Bitcoin has some limitations like we need electricity to use it and old people and kids can't use it properly.
So I am totally disagree with this line and I don't think anyone is against fiat. We should take advantages by using the features of this Digital Currency and also can make profits by holding as an asset.

Well, in as much as satoshi designed bitcoin to be a peer to peer medium of payment, which simply means the initial plan was to make bitcoin a currency, we all can agree that bitcoin have gone far beyond being a currency, I don't know about other users here, but to me, bitcoin is more of an asset than a currency, most people who buy bitcoin today do so with a mindset of making selling it for profit when the price grows higher,, that's the character of an asset.

So like I've said, personally, bitcoin is an asset to me, rather than a currency to be spent on day to day expenditures.

Bitcoin will be the base of the cryptocurrency,So the people get into investment.The bitcoin is the new technology and it should be consider by most of the people.Some of friends uses the bitcoin as the complete payment in many of their.Some of the people all around the world with cryptocurrency.They will use the cryptocurrency to pay their own credit and need to

Up until now, the volatility of Bitcoin remains a major hindrance preventing it from becoming the primary currency for day-to-day transactions. People prefer speculating on these price fluctuations, hoping to gain additional profits through buying and selling BTC.

The "pizza guy" and Papa John conducted their transaction without regrets, as Papa John immediately exchanged the BTC received from Hanyecz for fiat currency. It was done at the prevailing exchange rate at that time, and I believe it was fair at the time.

If everyone knew the future, there would be no excitement in seeking surprises. Similarly, Papa John must have been taken aback because he had no idea that Bitcoin would grow to such magnitude as it has today.

basically I really want Bitcoin to function as a currency that is actually good for local and global transactions legally wherever it is. but in reality it is not easy. and even to be honest, so far I have only used Bitcoin as a commodity asset, not as a currency. yes, Bitcoin is an asset for both short and long term investments or assets for trading. the main cause is because Bitcoin itself is not yet legal to use as a guarantee or a means of exchange in this country. and even in most other countries Bitcoin is still illegal and not allowed to be used as legal tender. this is one of the challenges for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin seems to be treated more and more as an asset, less as a currency. But in reality, it's both. There are people and places that treat it more as a currency, and of course one person can both hodl some BTC and use the rest to pay for something (so, use it as a currency). The fees can be too high for on-chain transactions, but there are centralized solutions, and the fees aren't always that bad with on-chain transactions as well. The fee spike doesn't always happen when the price is rising, so there is no direct dependency here.

Bitcoin was created as a currency system. However, any new innovation often changes its course based on the market. Bitcoin is no exception. Even though it was launched as a currency system, it became a great investment asset which has beaten many global benchmarks. So majorly Bitcoin is used as an investment asset to many people.

Also, due to the fluctuations of its value, it makes a bad choice for currency. The price of bitcoin can go to any extent which can make your regret your previous purchases decisions. Just like the pizza guy who could have become a multi billionaire by now.

To be fair, whatever the original purpose of bitcoin was created, today, 99% of market participants see bitcoin as an asset, something speculative to make a profit. But I bet you, many people will deny that fact because they don't want to offend others.
There are many people who accept bitcoin as a payment method for their business, and many are already using bitcoin to pay their bills. But the question is how many people are doing it, and how often do they do it? Or they experiment with it a few times and never repeat it.

That is quitely not correct. When converting Bitcoin to eth, the conversion rate is determined by how much the value is it in fiat currency.

Bitcoin functions as both an asset and a currency. We referred to Bitcoin as an asset since its price is rising, and we are confident that it is a good investment because the price has the potential to double or even triple at any time with a little risk. We can also call Bitcoin a currency because it was first referred to as a cryptocurrency. Bitcoin payment is not yet commonly accepted, but it will be in the future. You can primarily trade with it right now.

It all depends on the angle you're taking it use ror adoption, you can have it as a currency and still as an investment a d a profitable asset, as long as you are using bitcoin in either of these, you have more better advantages because of all forms of asset or currencies, bitcoin is the only digital currency that has a dual application for use unlike the other forms of assets or the flat traditional currencies, there more opportunities with bitcoin.

You are correct that Bitcoin can be viewed as an asset just like a vehicle or any other pricey possession. Similar to selling a car you get a set amount of conventional currency back when you sell bitcoin. It is true that by giving Bitcoin a value much like setting a price for your automobile you may exchange it for other goods or services. In fact the market price of a single Bitcoin coin is currently over $26k and it varies according to supply and demand. Many see Bitcoin as a type of digital gold a kind of safe keeping of value that might one day be useful. Different people have different approaches to investing and some decide to amass Bitcoin as a long term investment.

Then what's the main reason you buy Bitcoin?

Gold and other commodities price aren't that stable, you can check the price and you will see there was a dump during bad economy season. Bitcoin is also similar it's influenced with bad economy season, but there's 4 years cycle where the Bitcoin price will increase.

I believe most of people buy Bitcoin for investment which is a store of value, do you use Bitcoin as a currency?

It can be said that bitcoin is a versatile tool, it can be a currency, an asset, a bank for ourselves… it all depends on how we use it, there is no specific concept about bitcoin. Besides many people using gold as a store of value, there are also some who view gold as jewelry that makes them more glamorous. No one is wrong in this case.

But given bitcoin's volatility, is it suitable for a store of value? I don't think bitcoin is suitable as a store of value, gold would be more suitable for this role. The value of bitcoin is very volatile, using bitcoin to store assets or save is not appropriate and too risky.

Bitcoin can have a high price like now, it's not because there are brokers playing around. But crypto users, especially bitcoin users, continue to increase, therefore making bitcoin prices even higher. In addition, bitcoin also has a cycle, and this cycle is called halving, which usually occurs every four years. That's what I know about the factors that make bitcoin prices higher.
Indeed, that is the fact, that bitcoin is the pioneer of the crypto assets that exist today, therefore bitcoin will always be number one and at the top in the crypto field. All systems that run in the crypto world, such as blockchain, are indeed pioneered by bitcoin, and now many cryptocurrencies have also emerged that follow in bitcoin's footsteps. But cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin are not as good as bitcoin, because there is ownership from the creator, which causes, if you look at it from a negative side, the liquidity of the crypto could be taken by the owner, and the price will drop.
Of course
I, as a bitcoin investor, will certainly be happy when the price of bitcoin continues to soar, because when the price of bitcoin soars, it is characteristic that bitcoin users continue to grow. Even though bitcoin prices are converted to fiat money, I also want to ask you, is that bad?

Because I personally don't really care about that, the most important thing is that bitcoin has become one of the assets that has become an example to many people about a system that is very fair and not centralized. After all, if the bitcoin price is not converted to fiat money, I think if it is converted to other cryptos, I don't think it will be good. Because if bitcoin, in your opinion, is seen as the antithesis of fiat money, then when the price is converted to money, the difference will definitely be more visible.
In my opinion, bitcoin can be called a currency but can also be called an asset, because there is already evidence that bitcoin is used as an asset and also used as a currency and used as a means of payment, for example, like the country of El Salvador.

Bitcoin is a currency or an asset, it has been a topic of debate since many years. Ultimately, it depends on how you perceive it based on your perspective. However, it is largely seen as serving both purposes, as it can be used to buy goods and services like any fiat currency, fluctuates like fiat currencies and commodities. Simultaneously it is considered a store of value and hedge against inflation. In summary the classification of Bitcoin can differ across jurisdiction and the context in which it is being discussed.

Assets and as currency. The use of Bitcoin as an investment asset is because not all countries may use Bitcoin as currency in general in every transaction.

This is the time for those of us who are still very new here and for those who have been using Bitcoin for a long time, of course this is already in the enjoying phase.
Dominated by fiat because the space for movement is still restricted by government regulations so it has to be converted to fiat and in my opinion it won't be a big problem.

Listen to every answer from experienced people.

My understanding of Bitcoin is also very little.

Bitcoin exhibits both the qualities of money and the qualities of being an asset class.

Serving as a medium of exchange makes it a currency, evidence that Bitcoin is a currency is, In El Salvador, Bitcoin is currently a legal tender and the citizens use it to buy and sell almost everything in their country.

As an Asset, bitcoin is an inflation hedge and a store of value, and that makes it save heaven for investors when there is a financial crisis or an economic collapse, and an example of this is during the US banking collapse, investors ran to invest in Bitcoin.

And what are you looking at bitcoins? Currency or will it be an investment that will make you rich? Satoshi created bitcoin with the intention of being a P2P payment method, but with what is happening with bitcoin, it is clear that it is just an asset for speculation, nothing more and nothing less.

Even those who are spreading bitcoin as a currency don't really consider it a currency. I wonder, are they brave enough to buy bitcoin for $50k, and are they willing to spend it when it's at $25k? Are you brave enough to do it? Honestly, given bitcoin's volatility, it's unlikely to become a currency.

At this time I think most of the people have holding aspect in mind rather then spending their coins and not mych merchants accept it although you can find lot if you search for them.But people have seen how holding pays off in the past years due to which they also want same to happen with them and are bullish on it but we should not dilute the concept of btc as payment currency which can really help boost more adoption rate.

There is no way Bitcoin can serve as a global currency in a centralized world, it's more of an asset than a currency, and it would be impossible to imagine it doing so as a global asset. It's not going to happen, but it's perfect as a people's currency. Bitcoin is people's money, and because it is a real decentralized digital currency, the government will never gain control over this beautiful innovation.

Moreover, who needs Bitcoin to become a global currency? None I guess, that's why the power to kill Bitcoin is not in the hands of the government or any law, the future that awaits Bitcoin is massive value as time goes on.

I think you are very confused with Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an asset, just like your car. Once you sell it, it becomes currency. You can also trade Bitcoin or your car for something else you want by stating a price for each of them. Currently, the Bitcoin price is $26k per coin. So in exchange of 1 Bitcoin, someone can give you his car worth $26k. That surely works as a currency, isn't it? It's modern Gold. You stack it up for a better future.

We don't need Bitcoin to be a new global standard to use it as a currency, a mean for transaction, payment and an asset.

It is magic as whenever we have a Bitcoin private key and if it contains an amount of bitcoin, we can use it as a storage of asset and can broadcast a Bitcoin transaction.

We don't have to rely on any government, any local or global standard to move our bitcoin. We only need to choose appropriate fee rate to save transaction fee for ourself as well as get confirmations by miners.

Let me just clear up confusions you had regarding bitcoin's place in this whole blockchain shenanigan.

You're right first off, you could say bitcoin's the progenitor of the blockchain, and the decentralized currency system. It pioneered the idea, and rallied multiple coins and projects that aim to improve upon this concept, or capitalize on it for profit and gain. Secondly, bitcoin is indeed decentralized. No question about that. The problem comes with your last statement, wherein you mentioned bitcoin being the antithesis to fiat. While there's some truth to that in the fact that some bitcoin maximalists and die-hard Satoshi Nakamoto Meat riders regard of bitcoin as some sort of money jesus, Bitcoin isn't made to antagonize the current financial system, it could be argued that the reason why bitcoin is here in the first place is to provide and improve upon the current paradigm by giving the people a taste of what decentralized monetary system could give them in the long run, Of course as time went by bitcoin became bigger than its previous directive and is now not only acting as a form of currency that you can exchange for goods and services but is also acting as a form of asset you can invest in for profit.

Fiat acts the same way anyway, we don't see Fiat Meatriders acting as if Fiat can only be one type, why rally the discussion of whether bitcoin's an asset or a currency then?

It's when you peruse into the system of cryptocurrency and most especially bitcoin it's when you will understand the important of Bitcoin and also know the class bitcoin belong to, it's very obvious that bitcoin is a digital currency which is decentralized and no one control bitcoin except it's market determination, so in nutshell bitcoin is an asset because it's an investment which multiple your capital when the market is of at advantages to the investor and also drop the value of capital used to invest in it if the market is against and also on the disadvantages of bitcoin.

Not completely true. The English pound represented a pound of silver initially. That's how it got it's name. It was later that it was linked to the Bank of England gold reserves.

The major similarity bitcoin shares with fiat is the fact that, they are both currencies. Other than this, bitcoin isn’t fiat and they’ve got almost nothing in common. Given that bitcoin is decentralized and as such, no single individual could manipulate its prize on a broad scale but while, fiat is centralized and as such, prize fixing or standardization is what we observe.

One mistake you seem to be making is not to see the value in the sat denomination of bitcoin, just the same way we have in dollar and cent.

It takes a 100cent = $1
That’s how it takes 100000000sat = BTC1

Until investors learn to see the value in the smallest sat, Bitcoin would always look like a high priced commodity to invest in. This is the concept of is too late for most meanwhile, we still ashore on the crypto innovation

Bitcoin is an asset moreover is far from what a layman sees it to be, bitcoin was created as an alternative means of fiat payment but from the popularity it gain over the years made people to see it as a store of value or means of reserving funds, having gone through what people are really facing now on bankruptcy, lack of trust, seeing that people had entirely lost their trust in bank and some other centralized exchange. People had this trust to move their money into bitcoin than keep saving their money in bank were they use our money for business and yet still imposed unnecessary charges on their customers.


This is not true, there wouldn't had been any complication because of the lightning network, I think below post prove your argument

"The Lightning Network is a "layer 2" payment protocol layered on top of Bitcoin. It is intended to enable fast transactions among participating nodes and has been proposed as a solution to the bitcoin scalability problem"
.

To the best of my perspicacity, Bitcoin is more of asset than currency. If not, how else does one get such advice to hodl it rather than use it? It's a simple logic for those who like to act like it's currency to unravel. Fine, perhaps what Satoshi had in mind while creating it was as currency but what the globe is making out of it is asset. Check the early prices of Bitcoin and what it's today, and so many of us are still speculating that it will even do more than a double of its current ATH after halving next year. Tell, if it's not as asset in such manner; what other explanation best fits it?

In my opinion, it can be treated as both


People use bitcoin more as an asset than seeing it as a currency. The alternate use of bitcoin as an asset rather than just a currency it was designed for makes it more sorted out for and brings many investors to bank with it amidst the risks involved in owing them.


I don’t think so entirely. If you have a prepared mind and know the principles that guide something, you wouldn’t have a problem with its working principles as long as it serves your purpose of its use.

IMO majority of the people treat Bitcoins as an asset. The reason for treating it as an asset rather than currency is very simple. Bitcoins are limited in number, hence they’re very much valuable and rare. No more Bitcoins can be produced or created, so it is very crucial to save those coins. Now in such situation, very less people will give Bitcoins for something else in exchange. Yes many treat it as an currency, but they only do it, when they don’t have any other options available.

It is both all depends on the uses at the time. You want to buy bitcoin as an asset and you want to sell bitcoin as an asset as well. And you want to buy hardware wallet with bitcoin then bitcoin becomes a currency and also you to sell Pizza with bitcoin it is still as currency. So both the asset and currency are good to use. But before you use it you have to know the area you about use it because you can't use it when it for currency or asset.

OP this question of yours is very pertinent as it looks into the real stand of bitcoin and what  people think about it. If you have taken your time to go through the bitcoin white paper, you would have known better on the origin of bitcoin and why Satoshi had invented the bitcoin technology. Satoshi invented the Bitcoin to serve the place of fiat in the sense that bitcoin would serve s a digital currency void of any control from any quarters but the reverse was the case as whales saw the important futures of bitcoin and manipulated the market causing the weak hands and early adopters to sell making them control a large percentage of the bitcoin market. Since then, many people see it as an asset and store of value while for those who accept it as a means of legal tender sees it as a digital money.

In my country bitcoin is a commodity asset besides that it cannot be used for other payments but there are several countries that legalize bitcoin (El Salvador) their bitcoin as a currency.
But mostly bitcoins are still assets that must be held to allow for long-term upside.

Bitcoin fees are inexpensive in fact less than $1 if fees are down, so it doesn't matter as much as you might think especially when using a lightning network it will be even cheaper.
Have I ever bought something like hardware (Trezor) that costs little except for shipping costs, so that will be very different?

OMG... There are so many posts in that link, I don't know if I can read all of them or not, Thanks for giving the link to that thread


I'm also not sure bitcoin will become the new standard.


That makes sense. Using bitcoin as an alternative to cross-border payments will make transactions easier and costs less. I agree with you


I also think so. Even though bitcoin can be used as currency, for now it is still dominant as an asset

You are right! That's actually a problem: BTC can't be used for small purchases, moreover, nearly none of the business initiatives accept payments directly in crypto. That's why cryptocurrencies are not real currencies. I think, it's an asset: cryptocurrencies are a new form of digital assets.

FWIW There are always market makers and market manipulators that affect the price but that should not be confused with "controlling the price".

There have been altcoins that were also decentralized, Monero could be considered as a decentralized altcoin. However, many of these altcoins were too insignificant and without innovation to last long or become popular. Usually it is the centralized altcoins that despite having no innovation get pumped and become popular.

To be fair it is not just US that prints money without any cap. Any fiat currency in existence is like that. The only difference is that dollar used to be the dominant global reserve currency for the past couple of decades.

Not always. It's just hat people don't like the constant money printing without limitations that leads to eventual and inescapable inflation.

Not necessarily. When bitcoin price goes up, as a currency your purchasing power increases so you can for example buy more groceries with your bitcoins. In other words you don't have to measure bitcoin price in fiat or convert it to fiat ever.

For exactly what I just explained bitcoin is a currency. But a currency can be an asset too.

Bitcoin is an asset. Bitcoin is also a currency.

People can use bitcoin to purchase something. I have used bitcoin before to purchase something online. Bitcoin is a currency. There are sometimes that the fee is cheap and you can use lightning payment.

Some people are using the altcoin side chain like the pegged bitcoin on BSC and other blockchain for payment. But these are not bitcoin though.

It is its antithesis but rather it’s alternative that’s just edges it interms of usage ease and other features.

Bitcoin is both. First as the founder satoshi put it out to be a currency then through the use of it, people begin to see its value of been a strong investment asset just like how other stores of value like gold evolved to been assets. This was actual due to the fact that as fiat could devalue bitcoin doesn’t devalues due to the limited supply it has and also as hedge against inflation.


You can’t beat the fact that it will rise in price not because people stores it as an asset but because people demands increase on it and that subsequently would increases its value. The fiat currency grows in value as its becomes more valuable and attractive to many.

Just like I said it is an alternative currency so one could actually use other currency to pay for small transactions and then use bitcoin for cross boarder transactions or much larger transactions. This isn’t saying bitcoin can’t be use for smaller transactions too but to minimize cost of the transaction which are substantially less when the mempool is less congested than fiat transaction fee charged by banks sometimes

There are long history before Bitcoin creation in 2009.
Bitcoin Prehistory

The world has moved from Gold standard to US dollar standard. In future we might have other fiat currencies or CBDCs as new global standard or will Bitcoin become a new standard for the world?

The Bullish case for Bitcoin
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking

I don't expect it will be a new global standard but I believe Bitcoin adoption will be bigger.

Currently, bitcoin has a very high price. I don't know why the bitcoin price can move so fast. Is it possible that there are brokers playing with bitcoin prices?

The little that I know about bitcoin is:

1. Bitcoin is the founding father of blockchain technology.

2. Bitcoin is purely decentralized. No entity, company, country or individual is affiliated with bitcoin. Only Bitcoin is like that, another coin was born from the company

3. Bitcoin is the antithesis of fiat

Initially, fiat money was born on the basis of gold reserves. But now it's not like that. Many people disagree when the US prints money massively without considering gold reserves. However, bitcoin was born without any guarantees, only the trust of the community makes bitcoin have value. Isn't that the same?

Today many people oppose the dominance of fiat. People who are against fiat will turn to crypto. But would you be happy if the bitcoin price is expensive?

If yes, then:
You still like fiat, because it costs a lot if bitcoin is converted to fiat, but if the bitcoin conversion becomes 1btc = 1000 eth or 1btc = 2000bnb then you don't have to worry about how much bitcoin is worth in fiat exchange. But you have to worry if 1btc = 500 eth. But we never discuss the price of bitcoin with eth or bnb, more people compare the price of bitcoin with fiat rates

In your opinion, bitcoin is an asset or a currency?

If bitcoin is an asset, it is now. Most people will hold bitcoin as an asset and take advantage of the rising price of bitcoin. If so you are still dominated by fiat

If bitcoins were currency, it would be complicated if bitcoins were used to buy cheap things, transaction fees would be very expensive

I have many questions in this thread. Sorry if my argument isn't comprehensive, I don't have a deep understanding of bitcoin yet