Store of value

[1] The most common store of value in modern times has been money, currency, or a commodity like a precious metal or financial capital.

[10] The term cash is often used to indicate both currency, which is usually represented by paper money or coins in industrialized countries,[11] and sums deposited and payable almost immediately on order.

Apart from cash, legal tender issued on the fiat of a sovereign government,[12][13] examples of assets used as potential stores of value are: In addition, currency can take many alternative forms, such as cryptocurrency, livestock (e.g. some pre-colonial African currencies),[11] labor vouchers, gift economy relationships or stored-value cards (value is recorded directly on computer chips of the cards).

[8] As stores of value, gold and precious metals are generally favored to industrial commodities, because of their demand and rarity in nature, which reduces the risk of devaluation associated with increased production and supply.

[21][22][23][24] The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on "virtual currencies" that refers to them as "a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value.