The path to recognition of Bitcoin as a fully-fledged currency by the governments of all countries is still long. The more so because some of the states simply banned cryptocurrencies. Such a decision was made, among others India, Russia and Bangladesh. Other countries allow their turnover, but they define the role of cryptocurrencies in the economy. This is because governments are torn between wanting to protect the monopoly of their central banks for issuing money and the desire to tax transactions concluded with bitcoins. Faced with this dilemma, they adopt different attitudes that can best be illustrated in a few examples:
- The Australian government considers Bitcoin to be property, such as a property or a car. Therefore, transactions in which goods or services are purchased through cryptocurrencies are treated as barter exchanges and an appropriate tax should be paid.
- In the UK, according to the current guidelines of the Bank of England, Bitcoin is treated as a foreign currency. Its exchange for pounds is not treated as a sale and you do not have to pay VAT on it.
- In turn, the Finnish authorities consider Bitcoin as a form of security. Transactions involving him are subject to the same tax as investments in other financial instruments.
As you can see, the states are very diverse in determining the legal status of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether Bitcoin is money can not be unambiguous if it takes the legal systems of individual countries as a criterion.