Bitcoin could become the gold of 21th century?

[J117]

Gold has been the store of value par excellence for about 48 years now. After the United States returned to granting the private use of gold in 74 and the decoupling from the dollar, they allowed a dizzying rise in its price.

However, what makes gold a store of value are several factors, including:

Scarcity -> Gold is one of the scarcest metals on the face of the earth, it is not the scarcest. But it remains among the poorest, which makes it palatable.

Proof of work-> Gold is difficult to mine, as you have to organize human resources + machinery to mine it. Once extracted, it is necessary to provide for the logistics and control of the gold.

Let us also remember that gold is a metal that resists time, that is, it does not undergo variations.

For several days I have been thinking of Bitcoin as the new gold for the 21st century:


Bitcoin is inefficient as layer 1 if we look at it as a payment system. For this, we are working on solutions like Lightning Network (layer 2) - but that's not the main point.

Mining Bitcoin is already difficult today, it will become increasingly difficult over time -> This is an important analogy with Gold. Both are difficult and will be increasingly difficult to extract.

Bitcoin has a limited amount and will not change over time -> Same as gold.

The Byzantine Generals Problem -> Miners are incentivized not to compromise the BTC network as well as is very complicated, we can compare it with the physical gold surveillance system.


The first country that will take mining seriously by meeting the various mining farms, and finding efficient mining solutions, could increase its economic capacity.

What if the US regulates crypto and declares Bitcoin a store of value? Basically, it doesn't have an ICO, there are no teams behind it, and there isn't an owner.

[mbare]

Basically Bitcoin already is the gold of the 21th century. Yes it is not accepted by many governments, but still it widely adopted. I don't think even that it is necessary that governments use it, since many (most) governments also don't accept gold payments and also don't own large amounts of it.

[PrivacyG]

I think it is kind of wrong to put a sign of equality between Bitcoin and Gold simply because we are talking about two completely different things.  Sure, there are a TON of reasons we can use to say the two are similar, but on the other hand they are not at all besides them both being a very good store of value and, ultimately, Bitcoin even surpassing Gold's returns over the decade.

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Regards,
PrivacyG

[Lucius]

Proof of work-> Gold is difficult to mine, as you have to organize human resources + machinery to mine it. Once extracted, it is necessary to provide for the logistics and control of the gold.

True, when it comes to industrial mining, it is a very expensive and dirty business, whether it is surface mining or mines, it requires a lot of money, manpower and time. However, ordinary people search for gold only with metal detectors or by washing on river/sea shores.

Bitcoin is inefficient as layer 1 if we look at it as a payment system. For this, we are working on solutions like Lightning Network (layer 2) - but that's not the main point.

Bitcoin is incomparably more efficient than gold in the payment system, and it works quite well even without LN - the problem is with users who don't want to think but want everything to be automatic - but if you know how to properly set the fee in relation to mempool, the transaction will be confirmed in a reasonable time. In addition, any transaction that does not have an RBF can be accepted without confirmation, especially if it is for smaller amounts.

Mining Bitcoin is already difficult today, it will become increasingly difficult over time -> This is an important analogy with Gold. Both are difficult and will be increasingly difficult to extract.

Partly true, because Bitcoin has a max supply and we know that by the end of this decade 99% will be mined, while there are undefined amounts of gold on our planet, not to mention outside of it.

The first country that will take mining seriously by meeting the various mining farms, and finding efficient mining solutions, could increase its economic capacity.
What if the US regulates crypto and declares Bitcoin a store of value? Basically, it doesn't have an ICO, there are no teams behind it, and there isn't an owner.

So didn't El Salvador do just that - Bitcoin is legal tender and they mine it with the help of geothermal energy? What if the US declares Bitcoin illegal, closes all crypto exchanges and demands the same measures from its allies? Don't believe that the US could ever go so far and give such legitimacy to Bitcoin when they don't allow a regular spot ETF that is available in many other countries around the world.

[mk4]

What if the US regulates crypto and declares Bitcoin a store of value? Basically, it doesn't have an ICO, there are no teams behind it, and there isn't an owner.

Why do they necessarily need to "declare" it as a store of value? If bitcoin performs well for the market to think that it's a good store of value, then it doesn't matter what the government thinks in the end as the market will act upon whatever their perceptions are anyway.

[Nrcewker]

To be honest, there are too many differences between gold and Bitcoins.
So comparing both of them is really baseless.
Yes the only criteria in which Bitcoins and Gold can be compared are due to their price.
Apart from the price both has sky-land gap if we see thoroughly.
I can claim that Bitcoins are really valuable to their investors in this modern era. But at least give Bitcoins it’s own name in the market. Don’t call it as “Modern-day Gold”.

[slaman29]

Proof of work, not necessarily. There are cheaper ways to mine gold, which are more environmentally destructive and humanly objectable, usually done in countries with war to mask these efforts.

Proof of effort for sure but sometimes at the expense of others and purely high profit margins. I guess though arguers would say the same as Bitcoin miners stealing electricity?

[Darker45]

Bitcoin has a limited amount and will not change over time -> Same as gold.

Bitcoin has a limited amount in the sense that it has a maximum supply. Which means that there can never be a 21,000,001^th Bitcoin. This isn't the same with gold. Gold is limited but in a totally different sense. Gold has been mined for millennia and yet it is still mined until today and its supply has been continuously increasing no end.

The Byzantine Generals Problem -> Miners are incentivized not to compromise the BTC network as well as is very complicated, we can compare it with the physical gold surveillance system.

This may not be comparable. Satoshi found a way for data to be tamper-proof. This isn't the case with gold. Gold's surveillance system may be tight and strict, but fake gold is everywhere. Even China itself has fake gold reserves.

[Rruchi man]

Bitcoin has a limited amount and will not change over time -> Same as gold.

I don't quite agree with this, Bitcoin has limited supply true, but can never be the same as Gold considering that we cannot accurately estimate the amount/quantity of undiscovered gold in the planet. You know just recently a huge deposit of gold was discovered in Uganda,

Recent exploration surveys in Uganda have led to the discovery of approximately 31 million tons of gold ore deposits

source

This recent deposit discovered alone is more than the total fixed amount of bitcoin that can be mined. This discovery of this large amount of gold makes one wonder and accept the possibility that there can also be another deposit of gold as large as that sitting somewhere undiscovered.

[TheNineClub]

Basically Bitcoin already is the gold of the 21th century. Yes it is not accepted by many governments, but still it widely adopted. I don't think even that it is necessary that governments use it, since many (most) governments also don't accept gold payments and also don't own large amounts of it.

BTC is far from being widely addopted and to reach the level gold is now or was in the past. And the biggest issue BTC has is not being tangeble, and that's what gold has. Also, gold is not only used as a store of value...actually, no need to even comapre the two.

[tranthidung]

I am so sorry if I made you disappointed. I am a Bitcoin believer but I would like to say fiat currencies, CBDCs, precious metals including gold, Bitcoin and altcoins will co-exist on Earth and will be co-used in human societies.

• The bullish case for Bitcoin
• It is a good book for you (and everyone) to read in order to become a true Bitcoin believer. In the book, you will see comparison between gold and Bitcoin but you're free to absorb it in your own perspective.

[Coin_trader]

Why does Bitcoin need to be something just because of its value. Bitcoin is very different to Gold in terms of usability and valuation. Why not we should categorized Bitcoin as is because this is under a new category in terms of Bitcoin and I want it to be known as Bitcoin not as replacement of Gold or something valuable.

[P2PECS]

Some argue that, BTC is Gold 3.0. A digital version much better than gold, because it does not weigh and is very easy to transfer to the other side of the globe in large quantities in minutes and at low cost. In the end, I think that more than definitions, what determines the essence of something is the majority use it is given, and today it seems that it is more an improved gold than a P2P Electronic Cash System, although the two characteristics coexist in BTC.

[famososMuertos]

Hi, OP;
So much talk, speech weren't necessary, btw Topic that has been discussed several times in the forum, the issue that bitcoin is the new orange... 

men! typical issue of shooting arrows, so before thinking about what would happen, we must analyze if such a thing is possible, that is, it is not so feasible that such a thing happens in the short term, although certain lights are already seen in some politicians enacting laws in some areas such as mining, but in the way you propose it, why spend "ideas" when the feasibility in the short term is unlikely.

[masterrex]

Bitcoin could become the gold of the 21st century?

I believe thats highly possible and if we based on bitcoin's achievements in recent years bitcoin was transformed from a simple unknown digital coin in 2010 into one of the most successful digital assets in 2022, thats why bitcoin was often called the digital gold of today. I think it matters because whether we like it or not bitcoin has already proven as a valuable invention of the 21st century and for me thats a fact.  

[kryptqnick]

Gold's scarcity is largely assumed than a proven fact, which is why sometimes is can lead to unpleasant surprises, at least locally if not globally. For example, there used to be inflation which occurred in Western Europe in 16-17th centuries, which is attributed largely to large influx of gold from Spanish colonization missions. As for our times, there've been reports on Uganda's huge gold deposits that, if confirmed, would more than double current amounts of refined gold.
Also, proof of work is technically true, but it's necessarily harmful to the environment and local communities, whereas Bitcoin mining's ecological impact depends on the sources of energy.
That being said, Bitcoin is way less stable than gold, and I think gold is often associated with certain safety and stability that Bitcoin does not possess.

[2stout]

It's quite possible and perhaps likely but even if it doesn't in the 21st century, then for sure in the 22nd century.  It took gold time to establish itself and in this aspect bitcoin will be no different, even though the timeframes for establishment will be different.

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

Isn't it already gold or fair to say more valuable than gold?
Being in the crypto space Bitcoin is more valuable for me than gold. I even sold gold to buy bitcoin at once.

That being said, Bitcoin is way less stable than gold, and I think gold is often associated with certain safety and stability that Bitcoin does not possess.

When bitcoin will have mass adoption and will be used as an established form of payment system worldwide then we will have the stability. It will still take a long time but some day we hope we will have it. We are still in diaper. Let us learn to walk, then eat food, learn wearing cloths and grow up.

[darewaller]

I agree that there is a good case to be made about the correlation because both go up when dollar gets devalued and gets lower when dollar gets stronger. But aside from that, the similarities usually ends. You could draw a lot of connection if you so wished to desire but in that sense it could be drawn a lot more.

Plus, gold could still be "found", rare these days I agree, but there is no limit to how much gold there is, because it is unknown give or take, sure we won't be finding an earth size gold for sure, but it is still unknown how much is left. On top of that, with space getting closer and closer each decade, I am sure in the distant future "space mining" won't be impossible.

So, even if we see the short term similar, eventually gold will get devalued by influx of more gold coming in, whereas bitcoin will always be 21 million capped no matter what happens, plus all the burned ones, so it's even less.

[jamyr]

So Bitcoin with its limited supply can be our gold for this century?

gold is used for chips in computers. bitcoin need computers for it to exist since bitcoin will forever stay in a digital form. So I believe it is highly unlikely that bitcoin will replace gold.,