Gold and bitcoin markets have have attracted comparisons for some time now, with gold investors taking an interest in the cryptocurrency during the 2017 bull market. But some of these investors are now reintroducing gold to their portfolio, according to Jan Van Eck of Van Eck Associates.
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Bitcoin vs Gold
Van Eck, whose firm created the most popular gold exchange-traded funds, has said that investors are now going back to gold, despite being lured away from it last year. He said that his company had polled bitcoin investors and learned that they were now interested in adding gold as an investment. “I do think that bitcoin pulled a little bit of demand away from gold last year, in 2017,” Van Eck was quoted as saying in an interview with CNBC. He added:
Interestingly, we just polled 4,000 bitcoin investors and their number one investment for 2019 is actually gold. So gold lost to bitcoin and now it’s going the other way.
Van Eck’s comments should be taken with a pinch of salt, however, as his survey didn’t ask investors outright whether they prefer gold over bitcoin. Rather, it asked them which assets they planned to own in the future in addition to bitcoin, of which gold, their first choice, is an obvious candidate.
Gold has long been a safe bet for investors. But bitcoin, described by some as “digital gold,” has also been hailed as a store of value. Tim Seymour, chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management, was quoted as saying: “Not only have we lost all liquidity on the underlying [commodity] but truly outside of the existential blockchain argument, it’s been very difficult to argue [that bitcoin is a] store of value which is really what we started hearing about.” He added: “Gold is a store of value and there’s no disputing that.”
Bitcoin’s Relationship With Gold
Bitcoin has a complex but intimate relationship with gold. Researchers have previously said that the value of cryptocurrencies spikes when gold markets slump, and when gold prices jump, digital assets drop in value. When BTC’s price surged in December 2017, there was a marginally negative correlation with gold, though the correlation has previously been difficult to prove as bitcoin is such a new asset.
Many bitcoin proponents, analysts, and gold investors have made the connection between the two as they are seen as safe havens that form an effective store of value and protection against the world’s volatile economy.
What do you think about the relationship between gold and bitcoin? Do you agree with Van Eck’s comments? Share your thoughts in the section below.
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