What I like about Bitcoin, the blockchain and cryptocurrencies, is that it sends me to new parts of the Internet I didn't know before. One area if finances and legal blogs. In my post Opening up the financial system, I referred to what I thought were 4 great articles on the topic. I read another one today that I'd consider adding to the list.

The article is The Bitcoin Boom: Asset, Currency, Commodity or Collectible? by Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at NYU. It's not an optimistic view. It is a quite neutral view of Bitcoin for what it really is. In fact, the point of the article is trying to define what it is.

What I like is that the author goes in-depth and makes the case for Bitcoin as a currency.

“The first step towards a serious debate on bitcoin then has to be deciding whether it is an asset, a currency, a commodity or collectible. Bitcoin is not an asset, since it does not generate cash flows standing alone for those who hold it (until you sell it). It is not a commodity, because it is not raw material that can be used in the production of something useful. ”

He then proposes three possible paths that he sees for Bitcoin as a currency, from best case to worst case. Here's number 2:

“2. Gold for Millennials: In this scenario, Bitcoin becomes a haven for those who do not trust central banks, governments and fiat currencies. In short, it takes on the role that gold has, historically, for those who have lost trust in or fear centralized authority. ”

Gold for Millenials. I like that.

Read The Bitcoin Boom: Asset, Currency, Commodity or Collectible?