Bitcoin is both—but at different stages in its monetization.
Right now, it's primarily seen as a store of value, like digital gold. Why? Because the world is still anchored to fiat pricing. People instinctively want more dollars—not sats—so they hold, not spend.
But that’s not the endgame.
Over time, as more people understand that fiat is melting and Bitcoin’s purchasing power is rising, it naturally transitions into a medium of exchange. This is already happening in places like El Salvador, parts of Africa, and among people who earn in Bitcoin.
So here’s the progression:
Stage 1: Collectible (speculation)
Stage 2: Store of value (HODLing)
Stage 3: Medium of exchange (spending)
Stage 4: Unit of account (pricing)
We're mostly in Stage 2, heading toward Stage 3. But make no mistake—Bitcoin becomes money over time. Not because it forces its use, but because everything else breaks.
Really Interesting discussion. I was also wondering about what Bitcoin could be in such a fashion that it can be many things at the same time.
Basically I came to the conclusion that Bitcoin is better than anything we could have before (at least what we have now in the current fiat system). We can see it as a medium of exchange or a unit of account seen as digital gold based on the 21M encoded rule that's a fact.
In the discovery of this fascinating technology I've created a custom platform called theblocknote.eth.link where anyone with some satoshis can send an immutable message and/or vote on the Bitcoin OP_RETURN protocol. In this sense this can be a "way" of using it but my comprehension of it might be limited. At least it's an unstoppable technology.
I feel like we're witnessing something probably more bigger than expected and of course it will takes a little time before anyone can really grasp what this can be but in the meantime I think it's an opportunity to look and discover how we can leverage this wonderful tool for a better purposes than just money?
That is my take on it then we'll see?