The movement to decouple gold from the world economy started in 1971. Now, it returns to the forefront with the “It is Time to Drop Gold” campaign launched by Grayscale.
‘Bitcoin Has Superior Physical Properties’
On May 1, 2019, Grayscale Investments, one of the largest digital currency asset managers, launched a provoking campaign aimed at challenging investors to reconsider their traditional beliefs about gold investing and instead embrace Bitcoin as a superior alternative. In this regard, Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, told MarketWatch,
Bitcoin has superior physical properties and market utility.
Grayscale’s social media ad campaign #DropGold is based on the premise that the yellow metal is obsolete as a store-of-value in the new global digital, economic model.
Why is #gold still in your portfolio? #DropGold
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) May 1, 2019
Specifically, Grayscale describes its campaign as,
#DropGold is our ad campaign which focuses on the emergence of Bitcoin as an alternative to investing in gold. It’s not only about building awareness around Grayscale and GBTC, but also about the emergence of digital currencies as a viable asset class. The campaign aims to shift the mindset around modern investment opportunities and portfolio allocations.
Grayscale argues that Bitcoin is far better than gold. “That’s because Bitcoin possesses a superior composition of ‘good money’ qualities made for a digital global economy.”
The firm details several features to highlight Bitcoin’s superiority to gold in: verifiability, durability, portability, divisibility, fungibility, and recognizability. And, scarcity (only 21 million bitcoins will ever be produced, by around the year 2140).
Additionally, Grayscale compares Bitcoin to gold in the characteristics shown in the chart provided by Grayscale below.
Is Gold Really the Best Investment in Today’s Digital World?
Gold has played a very influential role in human history for thousands of years. For millennia, gold was used as a symbol of wealth and as currency.
In 1792, the United States Congress decided to adopt a gold and silver standard, establishing a fixed price of gold in terms of U.S. dollars. Thus, gold coins became legal tender in the country. Later on, in 1944, the Bretton Woods Agreements created a world gold exchange standard, where the price of gold was pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Then, in 1971, gold began to decline more explicitly when President Richard Nixon ended the Bretton Woods system. As a result, now, no country uses the gold standard.
Today, data indicate that Bitcoin is already outperforming gold, as well as Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
Thus, Grayscale’s new movement questions whether gold is indeed a good investment, and emphasizes,
Gold represents the past – Nixon dropped the gold standard in the ’70s. It’s time to prepare your investment portfolio for the future.
What do you think of investors replacing Bitcoin for gold in their portfolios? Let us know in the comments below!
Images via Grayscale, Shutterstock