Topic: Please stop asking for "legal tender status" - page 6. (Read 858 times)

Yeah that's true I think because Bitcoin is a legal tender doesn't mean its forced upon by everyone to use it and I can also relate this with other countries that don't even use Bitcoin, because I am believe that some countries do have two currencies as their legal tender and this means the two currencies are to be accepted for exchange of goods and commodity just as you explain but this doesn't necessarily mean every one is forced to use and doesn't mean that government controls the two currencies used cause I believe one of them might be a different currency maybe like the dollar.

Totally wrong! Legal tender means that government recognises a certain method of payment/currency as legal in their own jurisdiction. A country can have multiple legal tenders which means they can have their own fiat currency active while also recognising Bitcoin as a legal means of payment.

There are multiple countries where Bitcoin is not yet a legal tender but there is only a handful of countries where Bitcoin is considered as legal tender. Now a government can choose whether to force a certain method or not.

Every country has its own native fiat currency, which is legally accepted by every individual, business, organization, and company in that country. The government of every country or your country doesn't force you to use your local currency, but you have to use it because it is what can be accepted in exchange for goods and services in your country. Unless you have someone who agrees to accept payment through other means, then you can pay, and you will not face any penalty as long as the person you are paying agrees to accept your offer. Categorically, what I am saying is that the government will not force you to use a particular currency, but if it is made legal and people accept it, you have no other alternative of payment unless the person you are dealing with agrees to accept a different means of payment from the one that is legal.

In my country, Bitcoin is not banned, nor is it a legal tender, but yet some people accept Bitcoin payments, and they don't face any government penalties for not accepting Fiat.

This recent time that the rate of inflation has hiked and the value of fiat currencies keeps depreciating, citizens in most countries, which are greatly affected by inflation, are looking for some asset to invest their money in that can appreciate in value and earn them a significant profit. So, it's not everyone who is suggesting that Bitcoin become a legal tender. Anybody can own Bitcoin as long as they understand the workframe of the coin and its technologies. It doesn't need to become legal tender before they can own it. People are looking for a safe heaven asset, an asset that they are sure can add value to their capital, and if everyone realizes that Bitcoin can be a solution for them, they will all be investing in Bitcoin.

For any currency to be a legal tender, it means that the government have made it part of the currency of that country by law, that should be accepted for payment of goods and services and also for paying debt. So, any country that makes bitcoin a legal tender does not really mean that the government will force its citizens to use it, but it will be an alternative means of payment to fiat. and it will be accepted by all.

Making bitcoin a legal tender by the government of a country does not give the government any power to control bitcoin. Let's take a look at El Salvador, it is not all of them that is using bitcoin, and Bukele didn't force anyone to use bitcoin.

Totally wrong, a legal tender is a type of payment that a country considers as legal and its law allow it to be used to settle debts which simply means a type of asset that can be used for financial things. A country never force you to use a legal tender but if you live in a country then you need to use it for trading of goods.

Let's say each country's fiat is a legal tender but they won't force you to use it, however if you want to purchase something from a shop or from someone then you will need it for the purpose. If Bitcoin becomes a legal tender then the governments won't force others to accept it but they will allow anyone to trade goods with it without any legal concerns. Ultimately, you'll be allowed to settle debt with either fiat or Bitcoin if a country makes it a legal tender.

I think a lot of people misunderstand what "legal tender" means.

Legal tender means that the government forces everybody to accept Bitcoin whether they want to or not.

Typically a country only has one currency like that, which is their sovereign national currency.

In other words, when you are asking for legal tender status, you are asking for a free, open and decentralized thing like Bitcoin should become controlled by the government because they force everybody to own it. Not only is this immoral, it will absolutely backfire because anything you force everybody to own will always end up being controlled by the government.

Understand that "legal tender" does not mean "legal". Bitcoin is already perfectly legal in most countries: you can own it and you can trade it if you want to. Even in China, where people consider Bitcoin "banned", individuals there can own it and the laws only apply to financial entities there (which are already highly regulated in all kinds of ways and there is probably a long, long list of things they cannot own).

So please stop asking for government help in proliferating Bitcoin by forcing people to accept something they don't want to accept.

And concede that Bitcoin is already legal for the most part, and governments at this point are not meaningfully "holding it back".