The term “digital gold” is often used when talking about Bitcoin (BTC). This name sometimes makes some economists cringe. Indeed, the fact that Bitcoin is not “tangible” unlike l’or (which can be physically touched and stored) implies that this designation is incorrect.
Gold, decentralized and as efficient as cryptocurrencies?
People still think today that cryptocurrencies (whether Bitcoin, Ethereum or others) are of no interest. This is the case of Zach Weinersmith who took to Twitter asking why, instead of using cryptocurrencies, we don’t use gold which has the “same” properties.
« So the only argument I’ve heard about crypto that makes sense in the believer’s setting is that he doesn’t want centralized authority for money. In this context, why not simply opt for gold? ».
Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum and a great advocate of the philosophy of using cryptos and decentralization, responded very quickly. His arguments will hit home for anyone who uses Bitcoin or Ethereum. Vitalik explains that “gold is incredibly troublesome. It is difficult to use, especially when transacting with unreliable parties ».
It is certain thatexchange goldfrom person to person for example, or to pay for a coffee in a bar is very complicated. Procurement d’or in itself can prove to be an obstacle course, next to the ease of purchase of Ethereum.
Vitalik goes on to explain that gold « does not support secure storage options such as multisig ». He is actually complicated to validate a gold transaction with several…
The creator of Ethereum ends with a sentence that will undoubtedly make many critics of cryptocurrency cringe.
« At this point, gold has less adoption than crypto, so crypto is the best bet ».
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Will gold ever be replaced?
Hayden Adamplatform builder Uniswap, thinks. That’s why he joined the discussion on Twitter.
« Gold also presents the risk of huge centrally controlled inflation due to asteroid mining ».
Compte de Hayden Adam – Source : Twitter
This theory, which has been gaining more and more momentum lately, relies on the fact that one day, humans will be able to recover materials much rarer than gold, especially on meteorites and asteroids. Which would lead to a drop in intrinsic value gold, and possibly the stock market crash we are currently experiencing.
So, is gold the solution? It is clear that in terms of “decentralization”, the question does not arise. Buying gold cannot be done without a trusted third party. On the other hand, anyone can hold it, and, whatever our convictions, gold remains a safe haven, something that is not (yet) Bitcoinlet alone Ethereum.
But things could very well turn around in the years to come. Wouldn’t the solution be, as is often advised, to diversify, and thus hold both gold and cryptocurrencies at the same time?
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