In my view, it’s both. It’s a transferable obligation, but since it’s a nonspecific obligation (really, only “can be used to pay future taxes to the issuer” is guaranteed) people tend to treat it as a commodity.
It’s definitely not real—you can’t eat it or use it in any way except to barter for other, specific goods and services. But it’s ubiquitous and common enough that this gets forgotten by most participants, and people start to confuse money with actual future value.
In my view, it’s both. It’s a transferable obligation, but since it’s a nonspecific obligation (really, only “can be used to pay future taxes to the issuer” is guaranteed) people tend to treat it as a commodity.
It’s definitely not real—you can’t eat it or use it in any way except to barter for other, specific goods and services. But it’s ubiquitous and common enough that this gets forgotten by most participants, and people start to confuse money with actual future value.