Quote from: tarmedia on March 24, 2014, 08:41:55 PM

BTC

I love and use bitcoin regularly. Prior to discovering, bitcoin, I could be considered a gold/silver bug. I'm convinced about the quality of the aforementioned metals but would like your opinion on bitcoin.

Is it money?

For any medium of exchange to be considered money, it must possess the following qualities:

1. General Acceptability

The material of which money is made should be acceptable to all without any hesitation.

2. Portability

Money should be easily carried or transferred from one place to another.

3. Durability

Money material must last for a long time without losing its value.

4. Divisibility

Money material must be easily sub-divided to allow for the purchase of smaller units of the commodities.

5. Homogeneity

Money should be homogeneous. Its units should be identical; they should be of equal quality and physically indistinguishable.

6. Cognisability

Money should be easily recognized.

7. Stability

The value of money should remain stable and should not change for a long period of time.

8. Malleability

The money material should be capable of being melted and put to different forms. Gold, silver, copper, etc., have this quality.

The precious metals, gold and silver by and large, possess the above mentioned qualities of good money material. It is because of this reason, that these metals have been used as money for a considerably long period of time. Government printed money, on the other hand, is not very durable(tears easily), it is not recognized outside of specific borders but might be be capable of being put to different forms(toilet paper)

Is Bitcoin money?

1. Not yet (but growing by the day)
2. Yes, Definitely
3. Yes, Definitely
4. Yes, more than anything (infinitely divisible, as the 8 decimals can be increased if needed)
5. Yes.
6. Yes.
7. Not yet (but that's to be expected of a technology this new, considering the circumstances it is relatively stable.
8. Irrelevant, if something serves a purpose and serves it well, i don't care about what it can't do. As long as it does what it is designed to do.

All in all, it looks good for bitcoin, and i'd say bitcoin could become a form of true money, and it could even outperform gold and silver, but it's not yet there.