CoinTelegraph investigates the pros and cons of storing one’s assets in Bitcoin versus storing them via traditional methods such as gold bullion, and speaks to a number of cryptocurrency experts to hear their view. Inherent value
One of the biggest arguments against the cryptocurrency is that it has no inherent value, and as such cannot be considered a safe investment, as if people stop perceiving it as having value, your assets are lost, as it is not backed by anything in the same way that paper money is backed by state gold reserves.
As Dominik Żynis, President & CTO of Stealth Company, put it: “Gold is a store of value that goes back many thousands of years, while bitcoin is relatively new and still out to prove itself. Actually bitcoin is more like a specific kind of coin, whereas p2p consensus blockchains are more like gold the metal. What I am saying is bitcoin might be lead (the metal).” However, Patrick Dugan , CIO of Crypto Currency Concepts, suggests a different model: “I would argue that bitcoin the asset is like gold, and p2p cryptographic consensus is like physics. Gold’s proof-of-work is all them supernovas what forged it!” Safe assets
Firstly, it’s important for one to decide what they’re looking for in a means of asset storage. Do they want a stable rate of return, very low price volatility and by the same token, price stability, or very high returns that come with an increased chance of loss?
Right now, if you’re looking for the first two, gold bullion or other precious metal storage is probably your best bet, with Bitcoin being the most favourable for the latter function. However, many in the Bitcoin community foresee Bitcoin becoming something of a ‘virtual gold’ as the price stabilises and becomes a solid […]
