Even though the trading of gold dates back to “hundreds of years”, lately the less than a decade old bitcoin crypto-currency seem to challenge the former. Given “meteoric rise” of bitcoin, on the 3rd of March of 2017, marks the first time that the new comer beat gold for the “first time”, whereby “trading at US$1,290 compared to US$1,228 for an ounce of gold”.
The scare availability of gold along with its “nonreactive” nature make gold a valuable item to invest in. However, that does not take away from gold’s “usual market fluctuations” just like any other commodity, while bitcoin will hit a stable ground once it “reaches its full potential”.
In fact, the growing popularity of bitcoin continues as various companies like “WordPress, Overstock.com and Reddit” now accept payments in bitcoin currencies, while through “Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile platforms” Microsoft is already accepting “bitcoin payments”.
Moving out of “virtual space”, earlier this year, bitcoins made its entrance in stores, wherein people “can buy bitcoins for euros, and vice versa”. Till the current month of March 2017, as many as around “16.2 million” bitcoins are in the circulations. According to the wire:
“The supply of coins grows steadily because of the way bitcoin is programmed. Each “miner” (“mining” is lingo for the discovery of new bitcoins – anyone with computer knowledge and access to blockchain software can act as a miner) introduces new coins to the supply at a rate of around 12.5 coins every ten minutes”.
As more and more traders gain their confidence in “alternative” investment form, bitcoin has a future “as a possible investment alternative”. Moreover, bitcoins features of “limited global supply, maintaining value and hedging against global market volatility” makes it similar to gold. The exuberance around the “bitcoin investment” pushes it ahead of any other precious metal, whereby “generating an annual return of 155% compared to gold’s annual loss of 6% during the same time period”.
The demand of bitcoin from the “developing countries” make it “increasingly popular”. The prospect of the possible “trade war” between the U.S. and China adds to bitcoins promising future, whereby strengthening the testament towards bitcoin’s “increasing attraction as a hedging tool”. Furthermore, one sees that:
“When Cyprus’s economy crashed in 2013, the price of bitcoins spiked as people resorted to other forms of payment than the national currency. In 2015, when the Chinese currency was in free fall, people in the country turned to bitcoin alongside gold”.
While, after the vote in favour of Brexit, within a day’s time bitcoin gained its value over “US$100” as some amount of “speculative money” made “its way to bitcoins” from yuan and pound. Seeing the “dominance” of bitcoins, BoE came up with a “white paper” that investigates in the “possibility of central banks minting their own cryptocurrencies”.
In fact, the wire also added:
“Bitcoin’s appeal, compared to gold, comes from two factors. First, it can be used as a easy medium for payments (for a limited but growing number of transactions), which gold cannot replicate. And with their limited supply of 21 million, bitcoins are likely to attract higher demand compared to gold”.
References:
thewire.in
The scare availability of gold along with its “nonreactive” nature make gold a valuable item to invest in. However, that does not take away from gold’s “usual market fluctuations” just like any other commodity, while bitcoin will hit a stable ground once it “reaches its full potential”.
In fact, the growing popularity of bitcoin continues as various companies like “WordPress, Overstock.com and Reddit” now accept payments in bitcoin currencies, while through “Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile platforms” Microsoft is already accepting “bitcoin payments”.
Moving out of “virtual space”, earlier this year, bitcoins made its entrance in stores, wherein people “can buy bitcoins for euros, and vice versa”. Till the current month of March 2017, as many as around “16.2 million” bitcoins are in the circulations. According to the wire:
“The supply of coins grows steadily because of the way bitcoin is programmed. Each “miner” (“mining” is lingo for the discovery of new bitcoins – anyone with computer knowledge and access to blockchain software can act as a miner) introduces new coins to the supply at a rate of around 12.5 coins every ten minutes”.
As more and more traders gain their confidence in “alternative” investment form, bitcoin has a future “as a possible investment alternative”. Moreover, bitcoins features of “limited global supply, maintaining value and hedging against global market volatility” makes it similar to gold. The exuberance around the “bitcoin investment” pushes it ahead of any other precious metal, whereby “generating an annual return of 155% compared to gold’s annual loss of 6% during the same time period”.
The demand of bitcoin from the “developing countries” make it “increasingly popular”. The prospect of the possible “trade war” between the U.S. and China adds to bitcoins promising future, whereby strengthening the testament towards bitcoin’s “increasing attraction as a hedging tool”. Furthermore, one sees that:
“When Cyprus’s economy crashed in 2013, the price of bitcoins spiked as people resorted to other forms of payment than the national currency. In 2015, when the Chinese currency was in free fall, people in the country turned to bitcoin alongside gold”.
While, after the vote in favour of Brexit, within a day’s time bitcoin gained its value over “US$100” as some amount of “speculative money” made “its way to bitcoins” from yuan and pound. Seeing the “dominance” of bitcoins, BoE came up with a “white paper” that investigates in the “possibility of central banks minting their own cryptocurrencies”.
In fact, the wire also added:
“Bitcoin’s appeal, compared to gold, comes from two factors. First, it can be used as a easy medium for payments (for a limited but growing number of transactions), which gold cannot replicate. And with their limited supply of 21 million, bitcoins are likely to attract higher demand compared to gold”.
References:
thewire.in