Could Bitcoin, the world’s “digital gold,” replace physical gold in the future?
As the world turns more digital, crypto’s pioneer asset Bitcoin (BTC) could take on gold’s store of value role, according to the CEO and co-founder of Digital Assets Data, an analytics firm.
“I see Bitcoin replacing gold as the hardest money for savers with long time horizons,” CEO Mike Alfred told Cointelegraph. “Young people are far more interested in Bitcoin in a world where the economy becomes increasingly online and virtual,” he added.
Bitcoin has gained significant status since inception
Since its launch over a decade ago, Bitcoin has travelled a price path from less than a dollar, all the way up to nearly $20,000. In that time period, the asset has changed roles several times, from a transactional currency to a financial asset, and everything in between, according to analysis from crypto Twitter analyst PlanB.
“The most compelling use cases continue to be in emerging markets where monetary instability and inflation makes it extremely risky to save in the local currency,” Alfred said.
Venezuela, for example, was hit hard by inflation in recent years, finding itself drowning in 10,000,000% inflation by the latter half of 2019. Bitcoin, however, found greater popularity in the middle of such cash troubles.
“As Bitcoin becomes more accepted, it will be used in more financial transactions and accepted by an increasing number of tax authorities,” Alfred posited. “Eventually Bitcoin could be completely interwoven into the fabric of the global economy.”
Others prefer gold
Not everyone sees Bitcoin in a positive light. Economist and BTC sceptic Peter Schiff has tweeted a number of comments against Bitcoin, preferring gold as an investment.
Bitcoin posted astronomical price gains over the last decade, as crypto space participants often point out. Noting such statistics, Schiff predicted the coming years as gold’s time to shine as Bitcoin loses value.
“Over the past several years Bitcoin hodlers poked fun at gold investors because Bitcoin gained so much more than gold,” Schiff tweeted. “Over the next several years those roles will reverse, but not because gold rises more than Bitcoin, but because gold moons as Bitcoin crashes back to earth,” the gold bug added.
Banking giant, Goldman Sachs, also recently said it does not view Bitcoin as a legitimate asset category.
Plenty of crypto industry participants have countered various arguments against BTC over the years, however, including Anthony Pompliano’s Bitcoin hedge argument.
