Topic: POLL-What is the definition of a Physical Bitcoin to you? (Read 568 times)

I think a peeled cas coin would def be a collectable and a "physical bitcoin" but im not sure id consider just a gold coin that never held any bitcoin a physical bitcoin but def a collectable and cool as well
* So basically I consider a physical bitcoin a coin that is holding or has or is capable of holding
bitcoin can be considered a physical bitcoin

Oh dang really I didn't know so that would be pretty nice to have some untouched ones around if btc jumped to even crazier numbers

Point taken and makes sense, I just use the word physical crypto very loosely when talking about any bitcoin/altcoins collectable.

The concept of "loading" or having the coin not "loaded" is a hard concept to draw for people who don't know anything about the basics of how to hold a digital Bitcoin/any other crypto.

It's a slippery slope to the conversation forcing you to explain the basic concepts to those people... however in your situation about the peeled Cas or any other coin that isn't "loaded" by a mechanism of tamper evident protection, I say those coins/notes/whatever are collectibles... when it comes to a loaded note coin/note/etc. it's a "physical" BTC/cyrpto coin,etc.

*if* bitcoin ever got that high, unfortunately you will probably see most coins peeled at that point.  We keep seeing cas coins getting peeled weekly at these prices, I can only imagine most will be peeled by that point, outside of the true collector...with plenty of side btc laying around

I hope everyone is still singing the same story when btc hits the big 1M but kudos to you ive always thought they look so dope and solid metal whats not to love seems so scary though

    Its a passion and hobby my friend...we are collectors of this unique hobby and are the select few that recognize the importance and significance of physical bitcoin coins.

   And yes...we do place a hell of alot of faith in the makers. Yet when btc did moon to 20k..they remained intact.
 
    There are coin makers that did sweep or breached their coins...I wrote a thread dedicated to them here https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/info-breached-or-scam-coin-makers-list-3315347

    Does paying for a stamp 9 million dollars make sense? Its only a small piece of paper...but someone did. Its part of being a collector at heart.

I still don't understand why anyone would want any physical cryptocurrency other then for looks doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose? Also if btc mooned can't the makers of the coins just sweep all the addresses assumi g funds were left on the coins? I don't get it

To me, a "Physical Bitcoin" is any item bearing a private key that is obfuscated in a tamper-evident manner, with the public address linked to the private key carrying funds on the blockchain. (loaded)
Then, the items come in different shapes : a coin, a chip, an art piece, a cereal box ... but what makes it a physical bitcoin is the hidden privkey & funds on blockchain.

Being bitcoin branded does not make it a physical bitcoin this might be just some crypto merchandise or crypto memorabilia

This definition comes close to defining a physical bitcoin but I think it kind of defines a wallet...like a paper wallet, but in this case this could be called a coin wallet too.

No need to add the word token.  Any private key is a wallet, if it's outside of the digital realm it is a physical wallet.  A physical Bitcoin would be any physical wallet loaded with a Bitcoin.  I didn't realize this was a debatable topic.

Honestly I wing the term physical crypto around a lot and it includes any DIY coins as well.  I think we can sub label to people who know what the hell we are even talking about but to people that dont I just reference the coin/note/ etc as a physical crypto product if it is loaded/assembled but not loaded/ or it can be assembled by someone.

Yes not any piece of paper with a 1BTC on it would represent a physical crypto product but if someone asks me what one of my peeled cas coins are I simply say a physical crypto coin.  Right or wrong that's my terminology of them

   Highly esteemed TeeGumes!...only from a well established collector veteran like you. Thankyou.

   Your input is always welcome indeed.
 
   While I am not trying to reinvent the wheel, I am trying to find how others perceive  a physical Bitcoin.

   Thru my many years as a collector on this forum and outside I have seen the word Physical Bitcoin used to broadly.

    I can understand it coming from people outside of this forum as some are not properly educated in what makes a physical Bitcoin a Physical Bitcoin.

    You would be surprised how many colletors use the word for anything with a BTC logo on it, loaded or not.

    And no I will still refer to them as coins if loaded with digital BTC, without it I would call them tokens.

    So again all feedback is welcome....please keep em coming! Consensus has to be reached so please put in your vote! 

   


 

Agree, thanks teeGUMES

Members/companies have been the ones that have created what we call Physical Bitcoins but the definitions are quite literal and have been established for a long time.

Taken from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Physical:
a) having material existence : perceptible especially through the senses and subject to the laws of nature
b) of or relating to material things

ie. Something you can hold in your hand.

Bitcoin:
a) a digital currency created for use in peer-to-peer online transactions

Coin:
a) a usually flat piece of metal issued by governmental authority as money
b) metal money
c) something used as if it were money

Round:
Very general -- if anyone finds a more narrowed down definition pertaining to metal rounds let me know.
a) having every part of the surface or circumference equidistant from the center
b) a rounded or curved part



We aren't reinventing the wheel here, these definitions are the worldwide standard and are usually interpreted similarly no matter where you are in the world. Remember that just because your idea/example/opinion makes sense in your region it could possibly be taken as something different in a different part of the world. This is why we need to use the official terminology/definitions as they are.

From the above, a Physical Bitcoin is anything that you can hold in your hand consisting of any sort of material that also has a form of Bitcoin on it, mainly either a public/private key that relate to the Bitcoin blockchain.

A Physical Bitcoin Coin would then be something with metallic properties that is exchangeable/has value to other people. The only part that may be debatable here is whether or not you could compare/swap a coin creator/company in place of a governmental authority issuing the coins. Bitcoin continues to push the boundaries of the financial/technology world and governments are dragging their feet hoping it just goes away rather than adopt. The argument can be made that because bitcoin is worldwide and not government bound that we could overlook that part of the definition as in the future it could possibly change.

An interesting quote when searching for What is the difference between a coin and a round?:

"Coins are legal tender. They're authorized by governments and have a face value.
Rounds are simply coined pieces of metal minted by private manufacturers. They do not have any face value and are not legal tender."

Therefore the only debate we should be having is whether or not we can claim physical bitcoins such as Casascius/Denarium/BTCC/Lealana/etc can be talked about as coins or if we need to start referring to them as rounds.


Lastly we add other words to explain whether or not a physical bitcoin has actual bitcoin on it or not.
Loaded, Funded, Buyer Funded*, Unpeeled, Intact, Newly Minted all indicate that the coin/round has some sort of private key that has been included usually underneath a tamper proof hologram and is currently still intact and the bitcoin available.

Unloaded, Empty, Unfunded, Buyer Funded*, Peeled, Swept, Breached all indicate that the coin/round used to have bitcoin on it but that the private key/hologram have been exposed by the current/previous owner. In the case of a breach it means that the private key had been kept by the coin creator and effectively stolen/compromised.

*Buyer Funded coins have been shown to be on both sides of the chart as it is up to the owner/previous owners whether they decide to use the public/private key combo that was secured underneath the tamper proof hologram by the coin creator.


Edit to add definition of
Token:
a) a piece resembling a coin issued as money by some person or body other than a de jure government

I would say that all our physical bitcoins could be classified as tokens. We use "coin" and "round" to explain shape as it is more common in our everyday lives to say something round and metal is a coin. Definition wise I think token is what should actually be being used but I don't personally think it sounds as professional/desired as the word coin.

I am basically still a newbie at collecting but, from what I have seen describing the sale of a bitcoin, they were pre funded, buyer funded, DIY.,  peeled, funds stolen  I guess I had to learn the difference between redeemed and never funded.  To me it is a bitcoin if it can be funded, except for a few rare exceptions.  I do think it needs to be a physical coin of some sort.

  I like that...but I wouldn't use Loaded Physical Bitcoin as the word in itself describes that it is already loaded.

    As for unloaded Physical Bitcoin I like it but would prefer,  Swept or unloaded Bitcoin token as it no longer is a physical Bitcoin coin.

    These are off the top of my head as I am sure someone can nail a perfect name for this. But great names nonetheless. 

   

   

Loaded Physical Bitcoin - An item sold/acquired loaded with bitcoin.  Cas, BTCC, Lealana, CI, etc. ('Buyer funded' coins count)
Unloaded Physical Bitcoin - An item that was previously the above.   Any of the above coins pealed ('buyer funded' items, but not yet loaded falls here)
Collectible Bitcoin Token - Items sold without the direct ability to be loaded (No hologram /indentation to hide key) - i.e. Bitcoin Penny, 1 oz rounds, etc.
                                    -I add the word 'collectible' for clarity to denote we are not discussing some sort of digital token as there is tokenization galore

There is no physical bitcoin or coins with physical bitcoin loaded. Neither works of art like kialara with physical bitcoin loaded.
Actually those coins or works of art loaded only have access to bitcoin you can never get the bitcoin out of the blockchain therefore what they have are access to the blockchain nothing else.

When we say that currency has 1 btc inside, NOT only has access to 1 bitcoin in the bitcoin blockchain.

Therefore the physical can only be loaded with access (privates keys) but we can never touch the bitcoin haha only Satoshi Nakamoto jajaj

 READ> https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/collecting-community-input-needed-definitions-used-in-our-unique-hobby-5134233

And please vote