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It's a speculative commodity, which, if gaining enough traction and liquidity could provide a viable alternative for a currency.
by iwwr 14y ago
It's a speculative commodity, which, if gaining enough traction and liquidity could provide a viable alternative for a currency.
- samwillis 14y agoI don't believe it is a commodity as it has no inherent use other than as a currency based on the value people are willing to give it. Gold (and almost anything with a physical presence) is obviously a commodity as it has a use (for making stuff) other than its value. BitCoin only has a use because of a value associated with it and so it is a currency.
- danpat 14y agoGold's practical value is a small fraction of it's going price. Bitcoin has some utility value in being a digital good that you can reliably exchange with someone, essentially instantly, over the internet, with no middle-man, for a very low cost. Sure, this might seem like a trivial value, but I think it's value nonetheless, and overpricing of something like that is not unprecedented.
- betterunix 14y agoIf Bitcoin's only utility is its ability to be transferred from one person to another, it is not a commodity.
- GaryRowe 14y agoBut it has built-in scarcity which means it possesses a characteristic of a commodity. Maybe a bitcoin is currmodity?
- knowtheory 14y agoThat's not quite right. The case I'm tempted to make is that Bitcoin is a commodity useful for secure, private/anonymous interactions. It's virtual sure, but the utility of a bitcoin is clear to its users and it is also inherent to its structure.
- samwillis 14y agoThats exactly my point, BitCoins utility is only that of providing people with a way to make interactions where one exchanges BitCoin for something else. That is its ONLY practical utility and what it was designed for. It it had some other utility as well then it would be a commodity but as it does not it is only a currency.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]