The investing ecosystem saw probably its biggest change in the last hundred years thanks to the gains made by Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Stable investors who valued gold, as one of the safest and strongest investment options, chose Bitcoin as their go-to investment in 2021.
As you know, precious metals like gold have always enjoyed a stellar record and performance as investments. A big portion of their charm is thanks to their being used as hedges against rising inflation rates. However, with Bitcoin entering the hedge world, investors want to try something as a credible alternative to gold.
There are multiple reasons why Bitcoin outshone gold in 2021. In this article, we will look at five major reasons for investors preferring Bitcoins to Gold as an investment.
List of 5 Major Reasons Investors Prefer Bitcoins Over Gold
1. Bitcoin is a Store of Value + Currency-
As against Gold, which can only be used as a store of value, Bitcoin has been designed in a way, which makes it both a store of value and a currency. This is equivalent to being compared to a country’s traditional fiat currency, like the US Dollar.
The currency part of Bitcoin lends it to become much more fluid and dynamic in its avatar. This makes investors liquidate Bitcoin investments quicker, easing trades and investments. This is something, which gold does not allow as it is a store of value.
2. Gold is Difficult to Invest in and Trade-
When you become an investor in Bitcoin, you own the crypto. You do this through Private Keys and a Digital Wallet. However, when you invest in gold, a certain institution, it can be a bank, or a wealth management firm, or an investment bank, which holds it on your behalf.
Physically possessing ten kgs of gold (if you are a serious investor) is not an easy thing to do. However, in such an instance, your ownership of the same is at the mercy of the holding institution. This makes liquidating gold, moving assets a far more difficult job.
3. Simple Exchanges and Trading Platforms in Bitcoins-
There is a perception that Gold is difficult to trade and invest in, especially when you compare the same with financial assets like stocks or cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, on the other hand, can be bought or sold with the click of a button on Crypto Exchanges and Trading Platforms.
For example, if you wish to start trading in Bitcoins, you need to log into the bitcoin south african system, create your account, add the funds and you are good to go. Yes, it is as simple as that. However, if you want to invest in gold, you will have to jump through multiple hoops.
4. The majority of Gold circulating in the World is Fake in nature-
The year 2020 was rocked by the scandal of one of the largest producers and holder of gold in the world, Kingold, a China–based company listed on the NASDAQ, creating over 83 tonnes of fake gold. The 83 tonnes of copper, polished as gold sent the world into a tizzy.
Kingold pledged 83 tonnes of gold (or copper) and sought loans worth nearly 4 Billion Dollars from the market. This has led to much more scrutiny and trepidation among investors that believe that much of the gold in circulation in the world is actually fake!
5. Bitcoin is the Future of the World’s Financial Systems-
The promise of Bitcoin as a financial asset transforming the way trade and commerce will be run is huge. Unlike Bitcoins, gold’s implication remains largely restricted to being an asset for growth and stability. While the same is important, it is never going to be revolutionary.
Experts point to the fact that Bitcoin just a decade after its inception has already overtaken Gold as the number one investment in 2020. They point to the immediate future and say that in terms of being a value for global business and financial empowerment, Bitcoin has no parallels.
Conclusion
The next few years are going to be interesting as Bitcoin is set to outperform Gold in every single parameter. With the stability issues also being resolved thanks to Wall Street stepping in, it is only a matter of time that every other asset class will become secondary to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.