What's a Better Asset right now: Silver or Bitcoins?

[drillbit]

I see a lot of posts that generate a number of responses in the marketplace offering silver for sale. Its quite amazing that people are wiling to sell things like precious metals for Bitcoins. It makes sense, I just can't believe the world we live in. I have some silver-not a lot, some to "diversify my portfolio". What do you guys think? Would you rather have (if you can figure an equivelant amount) x amount of Silver or x amount of Bitcoins?

[JonMcAlpine]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

[dirtycat]

stick to silver and gold.. keep bitcoin a hobby

[creativex]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Not sure I follow. Both silver and BTC are fairly volatile investments in terms of FRNs.

I have both and I like them equally. Forced to choose which to put fiat into right at this time I'd choose BTC, largely because I have more into AG, but also because I have some investments I'd like to capitalize.

[iluvpcs]

I look at it this way.  Silver, Gold, Platinum, copper, cash, physical assets (cars, house), stock, bonds, 401k, etc...

It's all about not having all your eggs in one basket.

I wouldn't trade Silver for BC, but I think having money in different forms is important if one goes away or goes to the tank you still have a form of trade/barter.

--Ted

[JonMcAlpine]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Not sure I follow. Both silver and BTC are fairly volatile investments in terms of FRNs.

I have both and I like them equally. Forced to choose which to put fiat into right at this time I'd choose BTC, largely because I have more into AG, but also because I have some investments I'd like to capitalize.

All I mean is both BTC and Silver are great however BTC are changing all the time, like now you get BTC25 for a block instead of BTC50 and other things too.

Silver always remains the same and has no chance of being shut down or hacked.  

Also, Silver is physical; I believe there needs to be a physical form of Bitcoin.

[drillbit]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Not sure I follow. Both silver and BTC are fairly volatile investments in terms of FRNs.

I have both and I like them equally. Forced to choose which to put fiat into right at this time I'd choose BTC, largely because I have more into AG, but also because I have some investments I'd like to capitalize.

All I mean is both BTC and Silver are great however BTC are changing all the time, like now you get BTC25 for a block instead of BTC50 and other things too.

Silver always remains the same and has no chance of being shut down or hacked.  

Also, Silver is physical; I believe there needs to be a physical form of Bitcoin.

Thanks for sharing everyone. I agree in a diverse portfolio, too. Why is it so important for bitcoins to be physical? I know there are some services that send your coins to "cold storage" and effectively put them on paper. I think as long as you have a good wallet there is no need for BTC to become physical. The only benefit to them becoming physical (I'm assuming in addition to digital) is that it would facilitate face to face transactions. But in a world of smartphones and other capable devices, I don't think its really practical or necessary to have bitcoins be a physical entity.
I also wanted to point out that bitcoins are similar to precious methods when you think about it. I think merely making money and keeping it in the bank is a terrible idea of investing. Our money supply (thanks to the Fed) has the potential to be infinite, leading to deflation, making your hard-earned dollars constantly worth less. Did you know the Fed plan to eliminate the penny nickel and dime? That should say something. Our money isn't even worth the cheap metal alloys its minted on. I like BTC because their supply is finite. I understand that not all BTC in existence have been "mined", and thus there might be temporary lapses in their value. But, once all bitcoins are mined, no more are going to be produced. This is just like precious metals. Supply remains constant, while demand does not-that is the essence of an investment. I just think its really something to be impressed about that people are trading precious metals for Bitcoins. My portfolio will remain diversified-I have bitcoins and I have Silver. Money in the bank-of course some, but I have very little faith in the dollar. My portfolio contains lots of real estate, stock, precious metals and now...Bitcoins.

[JonMcAlpine]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Not sure I follow. Both silver and BTC are fairly volatile investments in terms of FRNs.

I have both and I like them equally. Forced to choose which to put fiat into right at this time I'd choose BTC, largely because I have more into AG, but also because I have some investments I'd like to capitalize.

All I mean is both BTC and Silver are great however BTC are changing all the time, like now you get BTC25 for a block instead of BTC50 and other things too.

Silver always remains the same and has no chance of being shut down or hacked.  

Also, Silver is physical; I believe there needs to be a physical form of Bitcoin.

Thanks for sharing everyone. I agree in a diverse portfolio, too. Why is it so important for bitcoins to be physical? I know there are some services that send your coins to "cold storage" and effectively put them on paper. I think as long as you have a good wallet there is no need for BTC to become physical. The only benefit to them becoming physical (I'm assuming in addition to digital) is that it would facilitate face to face transactions. But in a world of smartphones and other capable devices, I don't think its really practical or necessary to have bitcoins be a physical entity.
I also wanted to point out that bitcoins are similar to precious methods when you think about it. I think merely making money and keeping it in the bank is a terrible idea of investing. Our money supply (thanks to the Fed) has the potential to be infinite, leading to deflation, making your hard-earned dollars constantly worth less. Did you know the Fed plan to eliminate the penny nickel and dime? That should say something. Our money isn't even worth the cheap metal alloys its minted on. I like BTC because their supply is finite. I understand that not all BTC in existence have been "mined", and thus there might be temporary lapses in their value. But, once all bitcoins are mined, no more are going to be produced. This is just like precious metals. Supply remains constant, while demand does not-that is the essence of an investment. I just think its really something to be impressed about that people are trading precious metals for Bitcoins. My portfolio will remain diversified-I have bitcoins and I have Silver. Money in the bank-of course some, but I have very little faith in the dollar. My portfolio contains lots of real estate, stock, precious metals and now...Bitcoins.

I completely agree with you, the idea of them being physical is for security and replacing money so people will trust it more (will probably takes years to happen anyway). But yes, money is a scam whereas Bitcoin and Silver are not; however Silver is more safe because it's physical.

[creativex]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=129399.0

[JonMcAlpine]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=129399.0

Thank you for the link.

[foggyb]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Funny! Silver is the 2nd most volatile commodity out there, just behind bitcoins.

[JonMcAlpine]

I'd rather have silver because the value of Silver remains the same however the value of Bitcoins are changing.

Funny! Silver is the 2nd most volatile commodity out there, just behind bitcoins.

How so?

[creativex]

It's value in fiat changes a lot.



Gold is rather tranquil by comparison.

[JonMcAlpine]

It's value in fiat changes a lot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v718/timonex/ag85-pres.gif

Gold is rather tranquil by comparison.

Yeah but that's the value of money changing not silver.

[creativex]

That is precisely why I worded it the way I did.

That's not the whole story though. Gold value measured in FRNs does not experience such wild % swings, primarily because the gold market is several times larger than the silver market. The bottom line is silver and BTC value measured in FRNs fluctuates a lot. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can cause one to experience sleepless nights until you have been through a few corrections. 

[JonMcAlpine]

That is precisely why I worded it the way I did.

That's not the whole story though. Gold value measured in FRNs does not experience such wild % swings, primarily because the gold market is several times larger than the silver market. The bottom line is silver and BTC value measured in FRNs fluctuates a lot. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can cause one to experience sleepless nights until you have been through a few corrections. 

Oh right yeah fair enough I guess you're right.

Imagine a cryptocurrency backed by Silver and Gold, would be wonderful.

[Endgame]

Obviously a diversified portfolio with both Silver and Bitcoin would be preferred. But if I was choosing between the two right now, I would have to choose bitcoin. It has a lot more upward potential than silver right now imo. Silver is already relatively highly priced after the run up of the last few years, whereas bitcoin's run up is much closer to the beginning.

[Anon136]

what do you want? a super safe store of value with 5000 years of historical precedent or the one lottery ticket to rule them all.

[creativex]

Umm...I want some of each actually.

[bitcoin02]

ready for risk ? test bitcoin. either way silver is always best