
Bitcoin Was the Top Performing Currency of 2015 - magoghm
http://money.visualcapitalist.com/its-official-bitcoin-was-the-top-performing-currency-of-2015/
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Lazare
> Bitcoin Was the Top Performing Currency of 2015

The functions of a currency are as a store of value, a unit of account, and a
medium of exchange. So let's see, is this article saying that:

1) Bitcoin had the most stable value among currencies? Oh...no. Bitcoin's
value was quite unstable.

2) Bitcoin was the most widely used currency? Oh...no again. Bitcoin is not
widely used, and it's difficult to compare items using Bitcoin prices.

3) Bitcoin was the easiest to exchange for goods and services? Oh...still no.
Bitcoin is not accepted by many merchants and service providers.

Apparently there's a new 4th role for a currency: Ability to let lazy
journalists write misleading headlines. I suppose Bitcoin might actually be
the best at that.

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narrator
If you could pay taxes in Bitcoin then it would actually be currency,
otherwise, it's just another commodity. You can live in the middle of the
woods and barter and/or only use Bitcoin, but without USD you're still getting
your stuff taken away and going to prison for tax evasion. Barter is taxable
after all, and trading commodities is taxed via capital gains.

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_Codemonkeyism
What does "top performing currency" mean? Best for consumers? Best for
investors? Best for economies?

~~~
colechristensen
It's value vs. other currencies.

Which is a really braindead metric for comparing bitcoin to anything.

~~~
vinchuco
You mean exchange rate.

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bpodgursky
Red was the highest performing color in Vegas in 2015.

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slyfocks
Bitcoin's historical volatility (3-10x the currencies listed) makes for an
unfair comparison to other currencies--as a currency's volatility increases,
so does the probability that it will be an outlier, especially over an
extended period (like a year).

Not to mention that currency appreciation is questionably positive and does
not warrant the label "top performing."

