For the past year, investors have been asking themselves whether they should be betting on gold or Bitcoin. Whether or not they’ve won depends on their outlook. The meteoric rise of Bitcoin made a lot of people wealthy overnight, but the volatility of Bitcoin plus its immaturity as an asset mean there’s a lot of uncertainty and risk. By comparison, gold has behaved the way it always does – as a reliable store of wealth.
Bitcoin is facing new challenges, though its valuation is still incredible compared to just a year ago. Governments are finally starting to catch up with the rise of cryptocurrencies and are introducing regulations. News that the Japanese FSA had warned Hong Kong-based Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, about operating in Japan without registration set back Bitcoin prices late in March and more crackdown headlines could adversely affect Bitcoin in the near future. There has also been talk in Washington D.C. of updating U.S. regulations for cryptocurrencies, particularly introducing new anti-fraud measures.
But regulations are short-term concerns and when you take the long view on gold, you have to consider thousands of years of history as a store of wealth. Many investors are concerned that destructive technology is more likely to radically alter Bitcoin in the long future than any technological upheaval occurring that would alter gold. Based in a man-made system, there’s little reason to believe Bitcoin will be relevant in its current form 50 years from now. On the other hand, people have been trying to hack gold for hundreds of years, ever since alchemists first claimed they could make gold out of lead. Gold, which is made in dying stars, has only ever been successfully made on Earth one atom at a time in a supercollider.
Gold isn’t going anywhere and whatever the live price of gold today the precious metal is going to maintain its value centuries from now. Investors should pay attention to the ups and downs of gold. Active investors can trade gold and silver or gold and Bitcoin to gain from day-to-day price changes, but long-term, gold is a forgiving asset.
For the foreseeable future, gold and Bitcoin are likely going to co-exist. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin will become the kind of store of value that gold has proven itself time and time again. In the meantime, it’s easy to buy gold with Bitcoin thanks to online gold dealers like Silver Gold Bull. They allow you to directly trade gold and Bitcoin the way that you might exchange gold for silver and vice versa. Easily exchanging assets directly, without having to convert to cash, saves you costs and fees. Look into buying gold with Bitcoin through Silver Gold Bull if you’re looking to convert your cryptocurrency funds into an asset that’s known for stability. Every portfolio needs to be rebalanced from time to time. You can avoid overexposure to fluctuating Bitcoin prices by converting that excess Bitcoin directly into gold coins and bars.
