The two contemporary safe havens during the times of economic crisis are the representatives of tradition and technology. While gold will always be the first choice of safety net for a purist, the millennials believe bitcoin to be the new gold or the digital gold.
And seems it is truly a digital age, as proved by recent bitcoin high over gold. The world is increasingly turning to bitcoin as a safe haven.
Nonetheless, the demand for gold invariably skyrockets every time something disrupts the world markets. 2016 was no different. At least the first half of the year turned out great for gold investors. Turns out gold’s ‘intrinsic value’ and reliable store value did attract people and even yielded results.
Gold further surged following Brexit and even hit its 2016 high during July, at $1,364. It was further touted to rise following Trump’s election as the US President. The US election results which took the world by surprise and world markets by insecurity, did cause a temporary jump in gold prices, but they ultimately fell nearly 20% in the last half of 2016.
And as Chinese Yuan Devaluation turmoil escalates, Chinese people are increasingly favouring bitcoins over gold. The decision by Chinese authorities to restrict the importation of gold in order to prevent capital leaving the country has further spiked the demand for bitcoins.
Even though bitcoin started 2016 off on a weak note, its steep rise following the Brexit, the US elections and the Chinese Yuan crisis has cemented its status as a new age safety haven.
Other events such as the demonetization of banknotes in India and Venezuela, crackdown on Wealth Management Products and tightening of capital controls also played a strong role in the rising price of Bitcoin.
Moreover, Vinny Lingham, co-founder and CEO of Civic.com, in his highly anticipated blog post titled “Bitcoin 2017: A Currency Devaluation Hedge for Emerging Markets” highlights the impact of rising Federal Reserve rates on the value of Bitcoin.
He wrote, “Essentially, the higher the rates go, the higher the demand for Bitcoin will be. The divergence that you see is happening because Gold has been heavily favored by Gold bugs for historical reasons, in times of crises, etc, as the go-to commodity based store of value if an economic collapse happens, etc — which was often followed by a period of low-interest rates and then inflation.”
Lingham also mentions the hollow supply interval between $800-$900, which promptly propelled the price of Bitcoin to over $900. The price of Bitcoin at the moment is at $958, keeping an upward trend towards $1,000.
