Bitcoin Shaping Up To Be Digital Gold

Alistair Milne, the chief investment officer at Digital Currency Fund, recently commented on why he’s “still bullish” on Bitcoin (BTC) in a Twitter thread.

Investors are now very aware that Bitcoin is like trading Gold with 100x leverage and, next year, Bitcoin's inflation/production rate will actually be *lower* than Gold's

No-one appears to doubt the usefulness of Gold as an investment, they shouldn't doubt Gold 2.0

5/6 — Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) January 19, 2019

In a series of six tweets, the investor, who first tweeted about the then-not so popular cryptocurrency in 2011, explained that Bitcoin’s value proposition has swelled in recent years. More specifically, he drew attention to adoption, noting that each consecutive “wave” swells even larger. By that logic, he explained that if the crypto market is slated to run, BTC will likely surpass its previous all-time high at $20,000, potentially skyrocketing to six digits.

Milne also chalked up his comment to mainstream awareness, claiming that now, millions, if not billions across the globe has heard the word “Bitcoin” in some semblance. And as such, when FOMO kicks in, for both institutions and retail investors alike, buying pressure is likely going to be stronger than ever.

Lastly, the Digital Currency Fund C-suiter noted that Bitcoin has also seen its Store of Value (SoV) proposition become more apparent. More specifically, he noted that Bitcoin’s investors are now “very aware that BTC is like trading gold with 100x leverage,” along with the fact that the flagship cryptocurrency’s inflation rate will be lower than that of the precious metal. And, as “no one appears to doubt the usefulness of gold,” Milne added that they shouldn’t doubt the potential of BTC, the de-facto digital version of the asset under Fort Knox’s care.

The Gold 2.0 Narrative

Milne isn’t the only investor to see Bitcoin’s value as the effective second coming of gold. In a 47-part thread, Dan Held, a former Blockchain and Uber executive, explained that at its core, Bitcoin is a Store of Value (SoV), rather than pure digital cash. This isn’t to say that BTC can’t be used as an online Medium of Exchange (MoE). Yet, Held was adamant that the flagship cryptocurrency was “purpose-built” to be gold-like, rather than a decentralized, digital version of the U.S. dollar.

The crypto proponent remarked that Satoshi’s teachings, as it were, accentuated the fact that Bitcoin is more than digital cash. More specifically, the cryptocurrency creator mentioned the concepts of gold, long-term growth, and Bitcoin’s commodity status. The cryptocurrency godfather, so to speak, even mentioned scarcity at times, with Held claiming that Satoshi “highlights that Bitcoin’s scarcity gives it value… as a SoV.”

Held isn’t alone in touting this sentiment. Far from, in fact.

The Winklevoss Twins, the co-founders of the Gemini Exchange, recently claimed that Bitcoin “better at being gold than gold itself.” Twin Tyler noted that as this industry continues to develop, BTC will continue eating up bits of gold’s market capitalization, until the newfangled cryptocurrency passes its (arguably worse) physical counterpart.

Messari’s chief executive, Ryan Selkis, also touched on this sentiment. Selkis noted that as an inflationary recession is inbound, consumers will flock to easily-accessible SoVs, like Bitcoin. And interestingly, BTC is easier to purchase, store, and liquidate than gold, so Selkis did note that investors are likely to flock to the digital currency.

Lou Kerner has also recently chimed in on the matter. Kerner, the founding partner at Crypto Oracle, recently told Bloomberg that BTC is “just a better way to store your value.” Kerner noted that the cryptocurrency’s portability, ease-of-use, divisibility, and scarcity, make it a viable alternative to precious metals, and will allow BTC to eventually surmount the five-digit price boundary.

Gold Vault Title Image Courtesy of Descryptive.com Via Flickr