It does seem that we are in an era where language has been debased. Friends on Facebook are not friends in the way the word traditionally meant. Grande at Starbucks does not mean large any more. It is their second-smallest serving. 

In 2013 and 2014, the desire for an alternatives to fiat, central bank controlled currencies were called Alt-Coins.. Now, as interest has grown, they are often referred to as cryptocurrencies. However, crypto and currencies are names that do not have their traditional meaning. Crypto refers to secret allegiance to a political creed. This is an unnecessary obfuscation and gives an aura of a cult. Currencies refer to money, and yet rarely are the cryptocurrencies used to purchase goods or services or retire financial obligations.   

Economists mean something specific about money. It is a means of exchange. It is a store of value. It is a unit of account. Cryptocurrencies do not provide any of these functions. This could, of course, change in the future, but there is a contradiction at the core. If cryptocurrencies are to be a preferred alternative to central bank money, then it makes sense that they are hoarded. However, the more they are hoarded, the less they are used as a means of exchange and do not reach that critical networking mass.  

Some places do accept Bitcoin, the most popular and largest among the cryptocurrencies.  But this seems to be more a novelty and marketing ploy. A company that accepts the cryptocurrencies faces exchange rate risk as it was just paid in a “foreign currency.”  This may seem acceptable provided the crypto-currency is appreciating, but corporate treasury offices, for the most part, do not seek to be profit-centers of the business.
 

Given what appears to be the historical link between money and taxes, we thought that a test for the viability of this cryptocurrencies is if a sovereign accepts them for payment. A small town in Switzerland (Chiasso), near the Italian border, says it will accept Bitcoin for taxes but caps it at CHF250, which also makes it a bit of a novelty. It also begs the question what will the town do with the Bitcoins, as there is not much that town can buy with them. 

In the US, before the Federal Reserve, the banks in different states would issue bills that would trade at discounts in other locales. It was as if there were as many different monies as states. This seemed to be hinder interstate commerce and the development of a national economy.