Bitcoin has been said to be the new gold. The global monetary system is in a runaway inflation; investors have always considered gold as an escape from inflation and a last resort against governments that have the power to divert funds from individual accounts and central banks with the capacity of printing money and unleash devaluation politics. Gold often benefits when exposed to inflationary environments because it is still one of the best ways to preserve the value and one of the best methods of escaping government control. Bitcoin is very similar to gold; it’s scarce, it can be used as a mean of exchange and it also works outside of the government control.
Gold has been used as medium of exchange throughout history; however, its inherent characteristics make it quite inefficient as a payment method. Gold is difficult to store or carry and is also very inappropriate for small transactions. On the other hand, Bitcoin is extremely simple to store, easy to carry and also an excellent store of value working as an asset outside of the banking system and government control.
One aspect that outlays bitcoin is that is a fairly new currency with limited acceptability, but its huge impact made it the fastest-growing medium of exchange to date.
Judging from the current panorama and within a cautious approach, I would say that gold still comes out as a winner as a long-term investment because of its real intrinsic value, it’s a tangible asset with a stable price, and because people will always accept gold. And we have the history that proves it. All in all, bitcoin also can be considered as a winner on the speculative side of investment simply because its volatility offers speculators far more profitable trading chances than any other asset.
Also, if bitcoin succeeds as a currency it will turn out to be the best option for long term investment. Bitcoin’s acceptance has been growing by the minute. Big companies are having a sudden interest in the potential of this technology and the amazing capabilities of the Blockchain. Let’s hope this can help bitcoin succeed as a currency as well.