The False Choice between Bitcoin's Store of Value and Medium of Exchange

Different use cases of Bitcoin are complements, not substitutes.

A debate has raged in Bitcoin between its two primary use cases, store of value and medium of exchange. This debate has waged on since its inception, though the contours of the debate have waxed and waned over time. In fact, Satoshi was likely aware of Bitcoin's bottlenecks to scaling, given that the original implementation of off-chain payments using the frequency field of transaction outputs was part of Bitcoin's original design. Payment channels in the Lightning Network eventually became a better way to achieve off-chain payments, and by 2015, the Lightning white paper planted the flag for Bitcoin as a vehicle for payments.

In the last four years, however, the narrative has shifted towards Bitcoin as a store of value. At the same time, Bitcoin also had its roots as a form of digital gold, evident from the early connection between Bitcoin and Bitgold. The early conversation on the Bitcoin talk forum certainly makes reference to a digital version of gold, and the miners do the hard work of extending the chain and bringing new Bitcoin into circulation.