seriously why are we still calling it a currency? at best, it's a quasi currency. it has some qualities that make it a medium of exchange, but it has other qualities as well. if it were 100% a currency, people wouldn't be hoarding it as much as they do.
Yeah I sometimes wonder this too. I mean it is much more comparable to gold. People hoard that against the USD/GBP etc. Just because places accept it is a means of payment doesn't make it a currency, it just makes it as a desirable asset that people will trade for - a quality a currency shares.
I see Bitcoin as a vehicle, a means for moving actual money without some of the red tape, and often costs too, associated with money transfer. It's value increases through speculation on its role as a tradable asset, not as an exchange rate currency for currency.
yeah it's just basic economics.. gold can't be a standard for exchange because its supply cannot be manipulated, whether we like that or not. in that kind of an economy, not enough people would spend and growth can't occur. i know some people are sensitive to this issue, but it's just true. i do, however, think that the fed/treasury abuse their power.
look at this thread with a poll:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=613944.0;viewResults25% of the people don't even spend it, because they are using bitcoin speculatively. 45% occasionally spends their coins.
