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Because that's how money is defined. At least, the first few hits on Google for "money definition" are: 1) <Google> "a current medium of exchange in the form

Because that's how money is defined. At least, the first few hits on Google for "money definition" are: 1) <Google> "a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively." 2) <Merriam-Webster> "something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment: as a : officially coined or stamped metal currency b : money of account c : paper money" 3) <Investopedia> "An officially-issued legal tender generally consisting of currency and coin. [...]"

nickff 11y ago
Bitcoin fits neatly into definitions 2 and 3, as well as most other definitions of money. With respect to definition 1, bitcoin is a current medium of exchange, and bitcoins can be printed out. Is the money in your online chequing/savings account any less of money because you do not possess a physical embodiment?
- Turing_Machine 11y ago
  No, it does not. Definition 2 says generally acceptable. Bitcoin is not even close to that. If you believe otherwise, we could try an experiment. We both head off to the mall with identical shopping lists, me with a stack of $20 bills, you with a machine containing a Bitcoin wallet. Guess which of us will come back with more of the stuff on the list? It fails 3 because, as was already pointed out, Bitcoin is not recognized as legal tender by any government.
  - nickff 11y ago
    What if you were using a stack of Haitian gourde? Or a stack of Manx pound notes? I believe you would describe both as currencies. Guess which of us will come back with more of the stuff on the list? In fact, take a look at Wikipedia's list of currencies, and tell me which you would and wouldn't prefer over bitcoin at the mall.[1] edit: #3 does not specify who must "officially issue" it. As far as I can see, I could "officially issue" a money. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies
    - Turing_Machine 11y ago
      "What if you were using a stack of Haitian gourde? Or a stack of Manx pound notes?" I wouldn't come back with any of the stuff, because those things are not "money" in the United States. They are convertible to legal tender money at a bank, but they are not money, any more than a used car is money just because you can sell it for cash. If you cannot use it to obtain the general necessities of daily life in an easy fashion, it is not "money", by any useful definition of that term.
- fancyketchup 11y ago
  You may want to read those definitions more closely. Google gives the definition of legal tender as "coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt." Even if we expand legal tender to include non-physical embodyments thereof, Bitcoin is not legal tender in any jurisdiction I've heard of (but I'd be happy to be corrected if you know of one). That rules out definition 3. Bitcoin is not neither paper nor coined or stamped metal currency, so that rules out 2a and 2c. We could again expand the definition of "coined or stamped" and include "cryptographically signed." But that begs the question: who then is the official issuer of these officially coined bitcoins? Bitcoin arguably could be used as a unit of account, but a vanishingly-small number of people and businesses do that (accepting bitcoin, but pegging prices to the dollar or other currency doesn't count). That rules out 2b. Again, feel free to enlighten me if you have an example of this. So all of definition 2 is out. As for 1, Bitcoin is a currently-used medium of exchange, but that does not make it a "current medium of exchange." Bitcoin is not commonly accepted as payment for goods and services (you need to get out of the bubble sometimes). I'd bet that you can even use gold in more stores than you can use Bitcoin. Is gold considered money or a commodity? How does the volume of transactions conducted in gold compare with those conducted in bitcoin? Enough metal masturbation. You asked what the issuer has to do with whether something is "money." The clear intent of all these definitions is that what makes "money" different from other classes of things is that it is created by <insert some entity here who is generally accepted as being in charge of things> for the purpose of facilitating exchange of goods and services and serving as a unit of account. You may not like that, but the current definition of money does not include things like Bitcoin.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  Bitcoin is not legal tender. The money in my checking account is.

nickff 11y ago

Bitcoin fits neatly into definitions 2 and 3, as well as most other definitions of money. With respect to definition 1, bitcoin is a current medium of exchange, and bitcoins can be printed out. Is the money in your online chequing/savings account any less of money because you do not possess a physical embodiment?

Turing_Machine 11y ago
No, it does not. Definition 2 says generally acceptable. Bitcoin is not even close to that. If you believe otherwise, we could try an experiment. We both head off to the mall with identical shopping lists, me with a stack of $20 bills, you with a machine containing a Bitcoin wallet. Guess which of us will come back with more of the stuff on the list? It fails 3 because, as was already pointed out, Bitcoin is not recognized as legal tender by any government.
- nickff 11y ago
  What if you were using a stack of Haitian gourde? Or a stack of Manx pound notes? I believe you would describe both as currencies. Guess which of us will come back with more of the stuff on the list? In fact, take a look at Wikipedia's list of currencies, and tell me which you would and wouldn't prefer over bitcoin at the mall.[1] edit: #3 does not specify who must "officially issue" it. As far as I can see, I could "officially issue" a money. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies
  - Turing_Machine 11y ago
    "What if you were using a stack of Haitian gourde? Or a stack of Manx pound notes?" I wouldn't come back with any of the stuff, because those things are not "money" in the United States. They are convertible to legal tender money at a bank, but they are not money, any more than a used car is money just because you can sell it for cash. If you cannot use it to obtain the general necessities of daily life in an easy fashion, it is not "money", by any useful definition of that term.
fancyketchup 11y ago
You may want to read those definitions more closely. Google gives the definition of legal tender as "coins or banknotes that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt." Even if we expand legal tender to include non-physical embodyments thereof, Bitcoin is not legal tender in any jurisdiction I've heard of (but I'd be happy to be corrected if you know of one). That rules out definition 3. Bitcoin is not neither paper nor coined or stamped metal currency, so that rules out 2a and 2c. We could again expand the definition of "coined or stamped" and include "cryptographically signed." But that begs the question: who then is the official issuer of these officially coined bitcoins? Bitcoin arguably could be used as a unit of account, but a vanishingly-small number of people and businesses do that (accepting bitcoin, but pegging prices to the dollar or other currency doesn't count). That rules out 2b. Again, feel free to enlighten me if you have an example of this. So all of definition 2 is out. As for 1, Bitcoin is a currently-used medium of exchange, but that does not make it a "current medium of exchange." Bitcoin is not commonly accepted as payment for goods and services (you need to get out of the bubble sometimes). I'd bet that you can even use gold in more stores than you can use Bitcoin. Is gold considered money or a commodity? How does the volume of transactions conducted in gold compare with those conducted in bitcoin? Enough metal masturbation. You asked what the issuer has to do with whether something is "money." The clear intent of all these definitions is that what makes "money" different from other classes of things is that it is created by <insert some entity here who is generally accepted as being in charge of things> for the purpose of facilitating exchange of goods and services and serving as a unit of account. You may not like that, but the current definition of money does not include things like Bitcoin.
s73v3r 11y ago
Bitcoin is not legal tender. The money in my checking account is.