Can Bitcoin be considered 'legal tender'?

It depends on the location, but in most countries, it is not considered "legal tender."

First, we need to understand a term: "Legal Tender."

Simply put, "legal tender" is a form of payment that a country's law mandates must be accepted. For example, in China, the RMB is legal tender, and merchants cannot refuse cash RMB. In the United States, the US dollar is legal tender. If you use it to pay debts or taxes, the recipient must accept it.

So, what's the situation with Bitcoin?

1. In most countries (e.g., China, the United States, most European countries): Bitcoin is not considered legal tender. Governments view it as an "asset" or "commodity," similar to gold or stocks. You can legally hold, buy, and sell it, and you might have to pay taxes on any profits. Some merchants might be willing to accept Bitcoin as payment, but this is purely voluntary; they have every right to refuse. You cannot force a baozi shop owner who only accepts RMB to take your Bitcoin.

2. In a very few countries (e.g., El Salvador): Bitcoin has been designated as legal tender. This means that, in these countries, merchants are theoretically obligated to accept Bitcoin as payment (as long as it's technically feasible). However, this is an isolated case globally, considered a social experiment.

So, you can understand it this way:

In most places, holding and trading Bitcoin is legal, but that doesn't mean it's legal tender. It's like having an heirloom antique at home; it's very valuable, and you can legally sell it for money, but you can't directly use the antique to buy groceries at the supermarket.

To summarize: Bitcoin is a global digital asset, valuable and tradable, but in terms of its legal status, it's still far from the "money" (legal tender) we use daily.