Gold isn't really limited since it can be dug up indefinitely over time, but bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins. Gold can be divided, but there's a limit to that, whereas 1 BTC can be broken down into 100 million satoshis. When it comes to portability, gold is heavy and can need security if you have a lot, but you can transfer millions in BTC in just 10 minutes. Gold has a history spanning over 4000 years, whereas bitcoin has only been around for 18 years. Yet, tons of folks still believe that BTC outshines gold. Why is that?
Why do people equate physical Gold with digital Bitcoin
19 replies 196 views
paul.stakeHero Member
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#2Oct 17, 2018, 04:35 AM
Gold is theoretically nearly infinite in the Universe and there's thousands of tons gold inside the Earth, but economically speaking, it is irrelevant. The accessible gold is what's scarce.
Bitcoin and gold share similarities. Both are hard money and scarce. Both have proved to be storing your purchasing power overtime.
quantumbearHero Member
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#3Oct 17, 2018, 09:05 AM
This is true, but more gold deposits are discovered within each few years. There are more gold on earth than trees, but most of the gold are buried where humans can not mine it. There are far more gold in the milky way and far more gold in the observable universe.
Gold can be created in the lab, but it is expensive that mining gold.
I think bitcoin is better depending on how humans see it. If they see it to be more scarce and they prepare to see it more as money in the digit age, they buy it, the government buy it, more institutions buy it.
If you have 20k$ , would you buy gold or BTC? why? economics behind your choice. Keep in mind the volatility and variations of both
Satoshi Nakamoto was the first to compare Bitcoin to gold (although he didn't directly use the term "digital gold").🙋
Gold is, in essence, a very scarce asset. Gold is difficult to mine... Exploring new gold deposits takes time, money, and effort.
Therefore, in my opinion, comparing Bitcoin to gold is completely accurate.
Bitcoin is mined. However, mining requires a large initial investment (ASIC miners and electricity are very expensive). Furthermore, financial investment doesn't guarantee a positive outcome, as you are constantly competing with other miners.
The key difference between Bitcoin and gold, in my opinion, is that gold exists in the real world, while Bitcoin exists in the virtual world.🧑💻
P.S.
I would buy Bitcoin. Gold is harder to store.
AtomicCipherMember
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#6Oct 17, 2018, 07:49 PM
I think this comparison exists because bitcoin has shown a certain level of stability and reliability, which is why people compare it to gold. When investing money in gold, you usually understand that if you treat it as a long-term investment, you are very likely to preserve and increase your capital.The same thing is now happening with bitcoin. People are starting to trust it and use it more actively, because there are not many stable assets in the world that can both preserve and grow their money over time.
the_matrixSenior Member
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#7Oct 17, 2018, 11:30 PM
There is no doubt that people like to debate between BTC and gold, but i think that debate is unnecessary, they are both good assets to have and even much better if you have both. You know, we are in a bitcoin forum, so you'd find more people on the side of BTC, however, both assets have their pros, cons as well as similarities.
Gold is a more efficient store of value and that is why Central Banks stockpile gold in their reserves, BTC is also a store of value, but it is more volatile. And many other things i can point out, but it is the investor that will decide which is better for them.
degen_nonceFull Member
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#8Oct 18, 2018, 04:04 AM
Bitcoin is regarded as digital Gold and even though there are still possibilities to trade gold on exchange Bitcoin is likened to the Gold. Of course, people compared these two assets because it's a store value and even if Bitcoin is volatile, there are chances of Bitcoin to still increase back to the original state or even above the original price it was.
However, Gold has been existent for millenniums and I must say from the origin of the world, both are seen as a safe haven or store of values.
stack_2019Full Member
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#9Oct 18, 2018, 10:08 AM
Both are assets used for investments, so comparisons will surely be done by those who are into investments. Besides, it's not about which one is better and which one isn't, both have their pros and cons, they are from different markets, have different characteristics, different usage, and different supplies, their volatility has so much difference, and on top of everything else, one of them has a physical existence while the other one is only digitally available. However, since both of them are or can be used as investment assets, those making those investments will surely compare both options, and then they will go with the one that suits their investment goals and targets.
Most people these days prefer Bitcoin for their investments, and the reason is clear and simple and everyone knows it; they all know that Bitcoin is more volatile and has the potential to get them better returns in a shorter period than they can get from their investments in Gold because Gold isn't as volatile as Bitcoin for a very obvious reason which is that it doesn't have a fixed supply like Bitcoin, so the demand doesn't make its price go up and down that much.
indeed the urge to make big profits in a short period of time is what seems to tempt too many to become victim to high volatility. This method can give optimum results when it is calculated. But when all these decisions are taken on the basis of the temptation of easy money and one is not psychologically ready to face drastic losses of money in seconds, then their financial situation may merge at any moment.
omega_2013Full Member
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#11Oct 21, 2018, 12:24 AM
The reason is very simple: this is a Bitcoin forum, and most of us are Bitcoin investor.
In general, it is not wrong to compare different assets to figure out which one fits our investment style the best. But trying to prove that one asset is objectively better than another is pointless because no asset is perfect or the best for everyone. Everyone has different investment preferences and tastes.
Gold and Bitcoin are compared with each other a lot from gold maximalists to Bitcoin maximalists. Some insights from comparison in this The bullish case for Bitcoin book can be helpful.
In addition, if you want data like ROIs of Bitcoin and gold, you can get them from https://casebitcoin.com/. The site sometimes has technical issues but you can revisit it later if you're interesting in checking ROIs of Bitcoin and Gold over years. On that site, there are table and chart for these assets' ROIs that can help you having overview about these assets based on data.
hawk_minerMember
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#13Oct 21, 2018, 12:05 PM
In an era where data is worth as much or more than traditional physical assets, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem in terms of value the fact that Bitcoin only exists in the virtual world. And of course the greater ease it entails in terms of logistics precisely for this reason is a competitive advantage that must be taken into account to understand that despite the similarities, they also have intrinsic differences.
Which is better? A more comprehensive comparison of the two is necessary. In fact, Bitcoin doesn't always meet user expectations, with certain limitations. Gold's role as a store of value will continue to be taught to each succeeding generation. What cannot be ignored is that gold's existence extends beyond mere monetary presentation to social identity.
I think its because gold is physical. You can see it, hold it, and theres also a huge jewellery market around it. With BTC, its not something you can hold in your hand like gold, its basically a piece of code. So a lot of people cant really grasp the idea behind it. Im saying this as someone who doesnt come from a tech background.
Also, humans have been using gold for thousands of years, so theres already a lot of trust built around it. Bitcoin is still relatively new, so it needs more time, awareness, and trust to grow. I think itll become much more common as the younger generations adopt it.
Sometimes I feel people claim one is better than the other based on their preferences and what one person saying BTC is better than gold is based on the value they've placed on it ahead of gold So if you do not see things that way it is alright to also have that opinion But as much as possible you should not ignore trying to invest in Bitcoin because you do not see it as having the same value as gold because it will be very good for your investment portfolio if you are able to acquire gold and also acquire bitcoins for the future. This is what I think.
Bitcoin and gold are both superior to fiat currency in the area of money, but I consider BTC as gold 2.0 when it comes to assets due to it decentralization, censorship resistance, scarcity enforcement, and transfer efficiency.
Nevertheless, the economic relevance of Gold is about its verifiable stock, not theoretically the total supply of it deep in the earth, and according to my research, there's always a 12% yearly increase from Gold mining to the total supply based on the historical information of new Gold mining production.
eric.wizardFull Member
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#18Oct 22, 2018, 06:41 AM
Your right gold is every were in the world but, the ones that is discovered through mining is what is known, so to a large extent gold too is somehow scare. That's why it value and use has been of relevance over the centuries, Bitcoin has been discribed as the digital gold because it functions almost the same thing as gold because gold too is used to save money against the effects of inflation thesame thing Bitcoin also do on the Internet space.
miner_bullFull Member
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#19Oct 23, 2018, 09:05 PM
If you calculate the supply of gold on earth, it is far more than you can imagine, but can this vast supply be easily mined? No, because its position is deep underground, and currently it is estimated that only a few tens of thousands of tons can be mined, and the process of mining is also not easy because the position is further below the surface and the cost to mine it can be much greater even with more advanced technology.
That is why only thousands of tons of gold are successfully mined each year because of the difficulty, while demand for it is increasingly high, whether from the electronics industry, jewelry, finance, etc. So it is quite natural that gold is often compared to Bitcoin, in some ways.
You pretty much have some reasons why people say Bitcoin is better even if they similar
Bitcoin is digital
And as time goes on The world is transitioning into the digispace
And Bitcoin is like the future of money especially as a decentralized means of payment.
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