Why Bitcoin seen as 'Risk On' Asset instead of Gold's 'Risk Off' Status?

[very_452001]

Everybody says Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 is the new digital gold and will replace gold, an inflation hedge like Gold. Bitcoin & Gold properties are matching except for 1 thing:

- Bitcoin seen as Risk On Asset instead of Risk Off like gold, so in times of economic uncertainty Gold price soars because its risk off and in uncertain times stock market crashes & crypto crashes.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

In times of economic uncertainty where risk on markets crashing everywhere Bitcoin should be the hedge king right rising up and not be correlated to risky stocks correct?

[aoluain]

Bitcoin is outperforming pretty much every other investment including Gold.
It is far too easy to focus on the last week in the markets and make a comparison,
you gotta zoom out.

Many many traditional investors will still choose Gold as a hedge against inflation and
they might diversify a little into Bitcoin too but when the markets pull back like in the
case of the reaction to the new variant of COVID some investors will sell their Bitcoin
to cover their other investments, so the markets are linked somewhat.

[jackg]

Perhaps the gold price and prices of things similar go up because industries are trying to stockpile what they need too.

Bitcoin may drop because no one knows what will happen when it drops and they're taking too much risk on it. Gold might just be seen as less risky as it's historically proven.

Bitcoin isn't even close to digital gold though... People tout it as that to make it easier to understand and incentivise investment but we're far from there for now and might not reach it on quite a lot of properties (bitcoin lacks physical uses and is easy to split - it'll end up somewhere between gold and cash if it matures enough).

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

Bitcoin is better than Gold and it is not fair to compare Bitcoin to Gold. They are different asset and can not compare in all specifications they have.

Risk on or risk off is what people are thinking of Bitcoin. All investment assets have risky specifications and it's nonsense to say gold is risk off and Bitcoin is risk on.

Recall in the last year, crude oil had days with negative price and in the last one year, Gold has worse performance than Bitcoin.

[avikz]

Everybody says Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 is the new digital gold and will replace gold, an inflation hedge like Gold. Bitcoin & Gold properties are matching except for 1 thing:

- Bitcoin seen as Risk On Asset instead of Risk Off like gold, so in times of economic uncertainty Gold price soars because its risk off and in uncertain times stock market crashes & crypto crashes.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

In times of economic uncertainty where risk on markets crashing everywhere Bitcoin should be the hedge king right rising up and not be correlated to risky stocks correct?

It's because crypto is super volatile. I can understand that cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin has outperformed almost all other asset classes in the last decade, but it's still very volatile and quite new compared to other assets.

Also there is political reason. Cryptocurrency can effectively zero down the need of a banking system. So the traditional finance people never liked bitcoin at the first place. They are doing their best and running mass campaigns against cryptos in many countries.

So even if cryptos have all eligibility to become a risk-off asset, it wouldn't get the tag after all.

[hatshepsut93]

Bitcoin is currently in its volatile early stage, it's not yet a hedge against economic uncertainty, but it one day could be. When people compare Bitcoin to gold, they not only talk about its market properties, but also about its monetary properties - ability to being transferred without third parties, resilient storage (if done correctly), unaffected by fiat inflation and so on.

[fiulpro]

Isn't Bitcoin like the best investment right now? The best thing to ever happen during the pandemic for people. There were literally a lot of uproar about cryptocurrencies like bitcoins being the worst kind of assets but not only did it leave Gold behind but it has already earned its own status.

- Comparison between Bitcoins and gold is futile since at the end of the day they both have different aspects..

Bitcoins is a decentralized volatile cryptocurrency.
Gold is pretty much controlled and volatility is not very pronounced. You can't compare a virtual asset with a traditional one.

Bitcoins have already outperformed stocks as well as gold. Not a lot to compare.

[Hamphser]

Everybody says Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 is the new digital gold and will replace gold, an inflation hedge like Gold. Bitcoin & Gold properties are matching except for 1 thing:

- Bitcoin seen as Risk On Asset instead of Risk Off like gold, so in times of economic uncertainty Gold price soars because its risk off and in uncertain times stock market crashes & crypto crashes.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

In times of economic uncertainty where risk on markets crashing everywhere Bitcoin should be the hedge king right rising up and not be correlated to risky stocks correct?

Dont know on why they do really ends up with that kind of comparison or trying to say that they are just the same knowing that Gold is a natural mineral and have been existed for how many millenias or shall we say from the beginning of time which its understandable on that store of value title.

Risky asset of course because if we do consider out in terms of volatility aspect or level then you could really see the differences and i dont know on how they do
end up on having those considerations or comparisons.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Just a sarcastic comment:  If Elon tweets something about bitcoin, it drops 0-5%. If he tried the same with gold, it wouldn't drop. It's because of this below.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

Because, when an asset has a small market cap, it can be easily manipulated. Bitcoin, currently, isn't as volatile as it was three or four years ago, but it has still room to grow and be considered a “safe haven”. Not all people believe that it's somewhat a digital gold.

Remember that:  Society needs time to digest changes.

[NeuroticFish]

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

Gold price changes very slowly, the changes are very small.
On the other hand Bitcoin has days with 10% price change... easily.

The result is that you can lose in years with gold less than in one day with Bitcoin.
Just imagine those who bought Bitcoin in the winter of 2017/2018 at over 15k and sold in 2019 4x cheaper...
Yes, on very long term, or if you know when to buy and when to sell, Bitcoin is a great investment. Ah, you need strong hearth too for certain changes in the price.
...While gold just changes a little bit now and then.


All in all I find the risk status pretty much OK for now. I am certain that in some more years (and I hope they won't be many), Bitcoin will also become "risk off".

[very_452001]

Bitcoin is outperforming pretty much every other investment including Gold.
It is far too easy to focus on the last week in the markets and make a comparison,
you gotta zoom out.

Many many traditional investors will still choose Gold as a hedge against inflation and
they might diversify a little into Bitcoin too but when the markets pull back like in the
case of the reaction to the new variant of COVID some investors will sell their Bitcoin
to cover their other investments, so the markets are linked somewhat.

Bitcoin is outperforming gold because were in a 'risk on' macro economic environment now?

We had low interest rates for over a decade now and still have low interest rates and the money printer that favours 'risk on' assets. That's the reason why gold is going down?

When Coronavirus hit the world back in March 2020, soon afterwards gold shot up in price to over $2000 a ounce because it was panic uncertain times then.

If new strains can cause the same panic and uncertainty then can Bitcoin still go up like gold?

Bitcoin is better than Gold and it is not fair to compare Bitcoin to Gold. They are different asset and can not compare in all specifications they have.

Risk on or risk off is what people are thinking of Bitcoin. All investment assets have risky specifications and it's nonsense to say gold is risk off and Bitcoin is risk on.

Recall in the last year, crude oil had days with negative price and in the last one year, Gold has worse performance than Bitcoin.

But Bitcoin is competing with Gold as inflation hedge and store of value correct? If not then Bitcoin is a currency that everybody will use to buy things with it right?

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[Fortify]

Everybody says Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 is the new digital gold and will replace gold, an inflation hedge like Gold. Bitcoin & Gold properties are matching except for 1 thing:

- Bitcoin seen as Risk On Asset instead of Risk Off like gold, so in times of economic uncertainty Gold price soars because its risk off and in uncertain times stock market crashes & crypto crashes.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

In times of economic uncertainty where risk on markets crashing everywhere Bitcoin should be the hedge king right rising up and not be correlated to risky stocks correct?

Lots of people like to make the comparisons between gold and crypto but there are real differences. If you have gold stored in a safe in your house, there's a fairly good chance you know where it is at all times. However by the very nature of crypto, there is an infinitesimal small chance that someone could gain access to your wallet through several methods, from the opposite side of the world and it could be near impossible to track them if they emptied it. Gold also has real world practical uses like serving as a great non-magnetic and conductor material for electronics, while also being sought after for it's properties in the form of jewelry - as it has for many centuries.

[very_452001]

Just a sarcastic comment:  If Elon tweets something about bitcoin, it drops 0-5%. If he tried the same with gold, it wouldn't drop. It's because of this below.

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

Because, when an asset has a small market cap, it can be easily manipulated. Bitcoin, currently, isn't as volatile as it was three or four years ago, but it has still room to grow and be considered a “safe haven”. Not all people believe that it's somewhat a digital gold.

Remember that:  Society needs time to digest changes.

In may this year btc dropped like 50%. Volatile like 3-4 years ago right or isn't?

So if Bitcoin is store of value like gold and does the same as Gold then why isn't it classed as Risk Off status like Gold?

Gold price changes very slowly, the changes are very small.
On the other hand Bitcoin has days with 10% price change... easily.

The result is that you can lose in years with gold less than in one day with Bitcoin.
Just imagine those who bought Bitcoin in the winter of 2017/2018 at over 15k and sold in 2019 4x cheaper...
Yes, on very long term, or if you know when to buy and when to sell, Bitcoin is a great investment. Ah, you need strong hearth too for certain changes in the price.
...While gold just changes a little bit now and then.


All in all I find the risk status pretty much OK for now. I am certain that in some more years (and I hope they won't be many), Bitcoin will also become "risk off".

Is it because Gold has a much bigger market cap than bitcoin meaning it cant be manipulated by a whale pumping gold price like 10% in a day?

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[yhiaali3]

It is not easy for people to change things that they considered facts and got used to for a long period of time, for many centuries gold has been the favorite currency of people which they consider to have real value and a safe haven and it is also a hedge against inflation so they will not be easy for them to exchange gold for Bitcoin like this Simply put, the history of Bitcoin does not exceed ten years, so it needs more time to prove that it is like gold and even surpasses it, so with the passage of time people will discover the amazing properties of Bitcoin that outperform gold such as ease of storage and transportation around the world, at that time they can be convinced Bitcoin is actually digital gold.

[NeuroticFish]

Is it because Gold has a much bigger market cap than bitcoin meaning it cant be manipulated by a whale pumping gold price like 10% in a day?

Bitcoin's 10% a day is not done solely by a whale. Or at least I don't think so, not at current prices and volumes. But it is related to the fact the market is not properly regulated and:
* whales can manipulate it. Not at 10%, but still.
* inside trading may be more a rule than an exception
* huge margin trading is allowed
* many traders are too young/inexperienced

All these can have a cascading effect of whatever the whale does. It's not guaranteed though.
It's not that gold price cannot be manipulated. But the potential effects are not that big.

[DaveF]

Because for DECADES gold has been hyped as a safe asset.
TV commercials, print advertisements, radio spots. GOLD GOLD GOLD.
So people have gotten into their heads that it's a safe long term investment.
I'm sure if over the next 10 years we spent 100s of millions of dollars advertising BTC as a safe investment that would be how people would see it.

-Dave

[Maslate]

It's the price volatility of bitcoin is the main reason. Whales could manipulate the price that would result in a pump or dump, so there's no stability on the asset, but of course, everyone who believes in bitcoin will think that it will rise in the future but there's no assurance it will happen unlike with Gold that has been so stable for decades and that makes it safe for our investment.

Gold estimated markercap is only $11.316 T while bitcoin is at $1T , so there's a huge disparity, and the fact that bitcoin has not existed for a decade yet, that makes gold as the safer investment.

[GreatArkansas]

(....
Gold estimated markercap is only $11.316 T while bitcoin is at $1T , so there's a huge disparity, and the fact that bitcoin has not existed for a decade yet, that makes gold as the safer investment.

For me, I can consider this as a basis only.  Look at first the market cap of these 2 assets.
Very far for Bitcoin now compare to Gold. Especially the ETF, when gold started ETF before, the rally upward continues and the volume keeps increasing.
In short, the market cap, the volume are important.

[Darker45]

You said Bitcoin is seen as a risk on asset? Who sees it that way? Perhaps it's the same people who have yet to understand, much less embrace, Bitcoin as it really is.

But, be that as it may, Bitcoin is still very much at its infancy. Which means that while it has already proven something, it has not yet proven that it lasts and that it is consistent, things which gold could easily claim. In which respect, gold, which has been around as a precious asset since time immemorial and through the worst economic ups and downs, could easily beat Bitcoin, whose existence is but a little more than a decade, in terms of risk perception.

[tiCeR]

(....
Gold estimated markercap is only $11.316 T while bitcoin is at $1T , so there's a huge disparity, and the fact that bitcoin has not existed for a decade yet, that makes gold as the safer investment.

For me, I can consider this as a basis only.  Look at first the market cap of these 2 assets.
Very far for Bitcoin now compare to Gold. Especially the ETF, when gold started ETF before, the rally upward continues and the volume keeps increasing.
In short, the market cap, the volume are important.

I agree. A market cap is always a sign of acceptance by the community. Certainly, we need a few more points, but for the time being, this is a very good indicator. Either way, people have, for whatever reason, more confidence in large and successful coins than, for example, in smaller and not yet so successfully established on the market.