Bitcoin Forum

"Crypto, and right now bitcoin especially, is the new gold. It is better at doing what gold lovers like to do with gold, store it for the day before the end of the world when they expect gold will be the only thing that will retain value. Even without crypto replacing gold for this job, gold isn’t actually good insurance for when the world comes unpicked. As people that swapped their gold for a cigarette in WW2 found out, gold is not great money. However, there is a market need for an asset as insurance again disaster and gold has filled that niche for a very long time."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2018/07/24/trade-war-will-launch-bitcoin-as-the-new-gold/#59e649bd1c32 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2018/07/24/trade-war-will-launch-bitcoin-as-the-new-gold/#59e649bd1c32)

I continue to believe that the great utility of BTC at the moment is Store of Value and exchange of value for peripheral markets. People dream about ETFs and other financial instruments in major markets. But BTC is not necessary for these places and this type of instrument is only for speculation.

BTC is needed in countries in financial crises. In countries at war. In countries experiencing institutional crises. People who have lost everything and need to walk to another country with only their clothes could take their BTC with them.

Traders from African regions surrounded by looters could use BTC in multisig wallets in a more practical way than walking with dollars or jewelry, as is common there.

Bitcoin has never experienced a global downturn. It's had the luxury of being born and rising during a pretty much unbroken bull run for markets. Until it has weathered something then it's very silly to consider it as any type of safe haven.

My guess is that it'll be the first thing to go in most portfolios if things look proper rocky. You do not hang on to your insane speculative bets.

Give it a couple more decades and then it should be a very different matter. I'm fully open to being totally wrong.