Bitcoin is difficult to categorize. It’s not really a commodity and not really a currency, it has created an entirely new category. This lack of understanding has made many people wary of it. From the little that people do understand, it has been criticized for its instability and potential for illicit activities. But, as time goes on, the cryptocurrency is looking more and more like a legitimate currency.
Beyond the hype and wild speculation, Bitcoin is beginning to look like conventional money—that is, people are spending it for the exchange of common goods and services. Observers have long been critical about the cryptocurrency because it hasn’t resembled a legitimate currency—whether it was the deflationary model that destabilized its price and promoted hoarding and gambling or its subversive qualities that created the potential for illicit activities, like money laundering or buying drugs on the deep web.