https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/bitcoin-is-no-longer-a-currency/274859/An article from The Atlantic magazine - from 2013, way back in 2013 - declaring that bitcoin is not a currency, but "the ultimate tech stock"!
The four years since the article was written has proven that bitcoin is akin to an Amazon or Facebook (stock, not company), and much less "Pets.com". That's a good thing.
I have to agree with them. Every week that passes without a new company in any local metropolitan area deciding to accept bitcoin as currency is a two weeks further away from bitcoin actually being adopted, mainstream, as a currency.
Bitcoin is an investment. A stock or an asset class/commodity can be debated, although it doesn't much matter. Bitcoin is a store of value not a medium of exchange.
What do you think?
I agree with the statement, Bitcoin is an asset class with development around the blockchain and acts as a general means of trading being derivatives of the main product.
Alt-coins could be considered a part of Bitcoins asset class as the base currency used to measure other assets which is why a Hard Fork is a scary prospect because there would be no base index in the period between Bitcoin-A and Bitcoin-B to base price values upon.
The Atlantic article gets into the basis of that question with what is money, Bitcoin can be worth anything without a fundamental basis although the premise
The more Bitcoin is worth, the more worthless it is as a currency, as a food for thought is an interesting one.
It can be both and yet one is still greater than the other one we view Bitcoin as asset class and yet also means of trading value but that is what makes it fun and is a fundamental reason for blocksize debate.
Is it more valuable as an index towards other coins or as a means of low friction transactions the community will decide that one in due time.
I agree, people have giving up on the idea of having bitcoin as a currency and started using it as a type of investment since its price started going up with the increasing number of users and they have started treating it like gold, they buy it and they save it for a time when they think it is best to sell it.
But, it is already explained by many people that once bitcoins get stable prices, people will start using it as currency but it will take decades to happen.