A new report by the World Gold Council shows that there is global demand for harder forms of money than fiat currencies. Such demand points to a bright future for Bitcoin given that it represents an even harder form of money than the precious metal.
A total of 61 percent of those surveyed in the report said that they trusted gold more than they did fiat currencies. Historically favoured for its somewhat limited supply, the only thing going for gold and not Bitcoin is time.
WGC Report Shows Wide Understanding of Fiat’s Shortcomings, Bitcoin set to Benefit (Eventually)
The recent World Gold Council report asked 18,000 individuals from around the world for their investment preferences. It shows that gold remains one of the most popular forms of investment globally. Savings accounts are by far the most popular, with life insurance next, and gold in third place.
64% of people who have invested in gold in the past – be that jewellery, bars and coins or ETFs – would definitely buy again in the future. Find out more in #Retailgoldinsights: https://t.co/cjwr9hmshI pic.twitter.com/jNSo6HP8oO
— World Gold Council (@GOLDCOUNCIL) November 13, 2019
Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, remain way down the list in 10th position.
Although it is still much too early in the Bitcoin story to expect the masses to suddenly believe in it as a long-term store-of-value, the conclusions drawn by the WGC report show that there is a reasonably high level of distrust of fiat currency around the world.
A total of 61 percent of those asked said that they trusted the precious metal more than they did any national currency. Meanwhile, 67 percent said that they believed gold to be a good safeguard against inflation of currency instability.
Although the analogy between gold and Bitcoin has been repeated many times before, it still rings true. For the same reasons gold has historically made a better form of money than the paper money prevalent today, Bitcoin represents an even harder form of money still.
Gold found its use as a monetary unit thanks to its scarcity and how difficult it is to forge. However, recent scientific evidence suggests that gold is nowhere near as scarce as once thought. There are huge reserves of it within the earth itself, as well as out in space. Once mining or space exploration allows the tapping of these resources, the overall supply of gold will suddenly increase massively. It seems highly doubtful that its demand for jewellery making, so often highlighted by gold bugs as providing its “inherent value”, could absorb such a sudden growth of supply.
With Bitcoin, there will only be 21 million units and no more. This fact alone makes it a harder form of money than gold. Then there are its advantages when it comes to both storage and transportation. You don’t need a guarded vault to keep Bitcoin safe and it can travel the world very quickly.
The one thing that Bitcoin does lack when compared to gold is history. However, this could change quicker than many people think. If it’s to succeed as a digital form of gold, it won’t take thousands of it do it. Already, every child below the age of 10 has never known a world without Bitcoin. In another ten years, every individual under 20 will be in the same position. Bitcoin just needs to continue doing what it’s doing and it will naturally become more trusted. Meanwhile, constant examples of both the control banks wield over their customers and the often-reckless monetary policies of world governments will continue to ensure there is a demand for hard forms of money.
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