Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin?

[Geremia]

Listen what this Austrian Economics / Mises Institute author of a book titled Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin? says here:

https://youtu.be/g7vI957pg7U&t=2597

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

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[mindrust]

Depends on… how you describe money.

Being better money doesn’t have much to do with the unit price. In fact what you really want is a stable price/purchasing power. If the money is deflationary, that would stop the economy because everyone would be hoarding money instead of purchasing stuff. If nobody purchases anything the businesses will go bankrupt and people will lose their jobs and then btc at $1m or gold at $10k won’t do any good.

The US abandoned the gold standard in 1971 because they didn’t have a choice.

It is not like the US was cheating and everybody else were honest with their books. Everyone was cooking it and printing money without having anything to back it up. Nixon was cornered, he had no other choice. He had to join the game of crooks.

If you define money as a commodity, then you are right both btc and gold are way better than the USD. They definitely will have better purchasing power than the USD in the future.

If you think money is a currency which is also partly true, then USD is a way better currency than both. USD is faster and can scale infinitely unlike gold and btc.

[moneystery]

these three instruments have their respective advantages and disadvantages, so we cannot conclude which is the best or the worst because all three have their respective uses. bitcoin has better performance compared to the three, but its value fluctuates. as for gold, it is suitable for use as a stable investment but is inefficient for use as a daily transaction. lastly for fiat, it can easily be used for everyday transactions, but its supply can be manipulated and its value is closely tied to economic and political conditions. all three have their own characteristics and depending on the individual they can say that bitcoin is better than those three, or gold, or fiat.

[Marvelockg]

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

judging from the context he made his analysis from, he isn't wrong with what he said and I guess this is just a one sided quote that hasn't covered the particular statement the dude said rightly. From his analysis, we can't be 💯 sure that Bitcoin will go high in the future except events have played out to suggesting so. Bitcoin can go higher or downward and what's mostly the factor that's been at the centre of making the right prediction has been event that plays out and you can easily ascertain that it will cause Bitcoin to go higher in couples of years to come.

When the sport Bitcoin ETF was finally approved and then it approached the halving, it was easy to predict that Bitcoin will increase and the truth is that it did increase in line with the speculation and I guess what he was just saying in essence is that there are always factors and event that guarantees that Bitcoin will iether increase in value or decrease in the future.

[sunsilk]

We need fiat and there's no doubt about that but the world is changing and innovating so, with the acceptance of many countries with Bitcoin. There's a possibility that digital apps provided by banks might have a portion on their wallets by depositing Bitcoin on it.

And then, you can spend directly it with everything just like with the common credit card payments and QR code payments through Venmo, Zelle, etc.

It's just about the application and adoption if it's about money. Gold? it's far from being money but it's one of the safest assets that one can have as an investment.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Gold?  Hell, no!  People barely use physical cash anymore, and the world's population isn't going to revert to carrying around precious metal to pay the pimple-faced slacker at the gas station anytime soon.

Bitcoin?  Yeah, it'd be great if it weren't for governments and banks being in bed together and smearing it to death.  But I've often thought that people just aren't looking for an alternative to fiat, and that's why bitcoin has basically remained an investment rather than a form of money that one would actually spend or accept as payment (well, that and the mind-jiggling volatility).

So fiat it is until the first world nations destroy their economies through reckless monetary policies, and then it's going to be every man for himself and if the situation should happen that no stable fiat currencies exist any longer (which isn't likely), then people will adopt bitcoin or some other altcoin to pay for things with.  But that's a disaster scenario, and not one I'm hoping comes to pass.

Edit:

By the way, I've seen topics comparing bitcoin to both gold and fiat ever since I registered here.  Is this thread even necessary?

[Plaguedeath]

I'm not sure why you need to trust words that come from Boomers?

We're in different generations, they see investment is tangible asset, that's why they own real estate and gold.

While the current generation is full of technology, we can chit-chat using cellphone instead of envelopes, we can read news in cellphone instead of newspaper etc. And now we have Bitcoin, something that decentralized and intangible, if there are still many young generation didn't trust in Bitcoin, how about Boomers?

[Mauser]

Listen what this Austrian Economics / Mises Institute author of a book titled Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin? says here:

https://youtu.be/g7vI957pg7U&t=2597

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

For me this depends a lot on what kind of assets you already hold. There isn't one easy answer that tells us to only hold bitcoin or gold. For example, many people have gold in form of jewelry, cutlery or other form of arts. Even if the gold price is around his ATH it might not be a good idea to sell those things. It's not only the commodity price, but also the sentimental value we need to consider. Holding onto a gold necklace from our grand parents is fine, even if we would make more money switching it's value into bitcoin. For me the best is to have a mix of the three with a stronger focus on bitcoins for the future.

[chmod755]

Gold (and silver) and Bitcoin are storing value better.

Having some physical precious metals and cash is nice if there is a widespread power outage.

Fiat money is convenient because it's widely accepted.

[ultrloa]

Listen what this Austrian Economics / Mises Institute author of a book titled Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin? says here:

https://youtu.be/g7vI957pg7U&t=2597

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

People can't generalize on what's better asset for whole individual to have since people have different preferences on what investment they like to take.

Since maybe have different expertise since there talent on investment on those asset has been shaped up by their environment that's why they are good to make their profit grow on some assets they choose to invest on that option you give. Some may good handling their fiat to put it up on good businesses and other investments. Some may also good on hoarding golds then have patience to wait for long and same goes with bitcoin where everything goes good at long years past so its just how people choose what path they want to take since there knowledge can determine on what they like and what target they want to be in future.

[Ayers]

We have had a lot of threads comparing gold, bitcoin vs fiat, and one thing you need to know is that we are on a bitcoin forum, what do you expect from people when everyone is an investor bitcoin?

Each has a different use case and comparing them is unnecessary and without too much debate. Fiat is bad and terrible, but no matter how much we criticize or badmouth it, we still need it for our daily lives. You will still need to use fiat currency to pay your daily bills as it is still the world's main currency. Gold is a stable asset, it is not suitable for investment but is suitable as a top safe haven. Regarding bitcoin, I probably don't need to say much about it because I bet you are also investing in it to make money.

[Solosanz]

Fiat = Depreciated.
Gold = Heavy, anyone can see you carry gold especially you own a lot.
Bitcoin = Not depreciated and no one can see you own Bitcoin.

From above, you already know which one is the best/better money.

Fiat money is convenient because it's widely accepted.

It's because they only accept fiat, if they accept everything, I'm sure people won't hold fiat and abandon it.

[kentrolla]

I have different point of view when it comes to money as it can be measured using the need like if I am in a country wherein I cannot get exchange of Fiat for the Bitcoin I am holding and let's say it's completely banned that my local Fiat will be the best for me for any needs, if I can easily find swap for Bitcoin to Fiat then I would prefer Bitcoin as atleast I can expect some good ROI provided I am willing for a lockin if it drops, if I don't want to take any risk and looking for lesser profit wherein I cannot afford to lose then gold as bond would be preferred because gold as physical thing is difficult to hold, secure and there are charges like buying/selling and wastage associated with gold. So it entirely depends on your situation.

[Ricardo11]

Gold, fiat currencies and bitcoin, all three are at high levels, there is any not bad by any means. Gold is not very good for investment, gold is a stable investment, which does not give us much profit, there is no shortage of gold in the world, there will be no shortage of hearing when future gold mines come out, due to which the price of gold may decrease in the future. That is, there is no shortage of gold, but there is a limit for bitcoins, the total supply of bitcoins will be 21 million, that is, the total supply of bitcoins will not exceed 21 million bitcoins in the world, and Bitcoin has already reached over 19.5 million in supply, that is, the price of bitcoins will definitely increase in the future. This means that bitcoin investment is going to be a profitable investment, and besides, people of today prefer to invest more in crypto, for this we do not need any separate place, we can keep bitcoins through our smartphone or computer, which is very safe.


In addition, fiat currency is the easiest means of shopping for the essentials of daily life, currently most of the people of the world buy the essentials of daily life with fiat currency.

Here we can say that all three things are good, we cannot say less than any of them. But still I would say that bitcoin and fiat currencies are above gold.

[shield132]

Better money is whatever is the most easy and comfortable for you to pay and store. Fiat, Gold and Bitcoin, they all have their pros and cons, we can't simply say that one is a better money than the other.

Fiat benefits - In terms of payment, the easiest and the most available method. Fiat is accepted everywhere in the world but its cons is that the financial institutes of the government control it. It can inflate as the government wishes and is easily stolen.

Gold benefits - Everyone recognizes gold but if you want to sell it, you need to visit stores that have gold experts who will measure your gold and give you money. You can't pay with it in supermarkets, restaurants and etc but you can exchange it to fiat easily, everywhere. Gold is the most stable asset, the word Gold Standard doesn't exist without a reason.

Bitcoin benefits - It's the innovation, it's a currency and the payment method at the same time. When you hold it, you are your own bank, no one can steal it from you, you can protect your privacy while using it but it's not good for daily transactions because fees go up and down and prices are very volatile. Bitcoin is the best for investment purposes, not for buying things daily. Compared to fiat and gold, it's less adopted and also a little harder to exchange but it depends where you live. You can't live with it everywhere because you need an internet connection to use it. It needs high block size and massive adoption to become a money that we use daily.

[tabas]

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

OK.
There's always been like this even before and at any range that Bitcoin will reach, there will be the same comment as this from whoever think they're good at finances. Bitcoin has been disrupting the fintech for how many years already and it's going to continue but we don't know for how long. But as long as it's there, we are confident to say that it's here to stay.

Fiat = Depreciated.
Gold = Heavy, anyone can see you carry gold especially you own a lot.
Bitcoin = Not depreciated and no one can see you own Bitcoin.

From above, you already know which one is the best/better money.

Fiat is being hit hardly by the inflation and it's never going to stop. Whilst for gold, it's also an appreciating asset but compared to Bitcoin, it's like a flat line stable for how many years. And lastly for Bitcoin, it's a deflationary asset that you can store your wealth on a little cute device that's called a hardware wallet or for easier to understand, your access is your private keys or seed phrase which is not heavy to bring with you or keep it wherever it's safe.

[avp2306]

I would like to eliminate fiat on this list since usually I use this to buy something that I need and don't like this since the value always hit heavily by inflation.

But I would like to choose gold and I'm frequently acquiring both since the value of this asset rise just like what currently happening to gold right now where it got much price rise for past months. Here's the price monthly analytic of gold https://ycharts.com/indicators/gold_price_london we see right here that this is good investment to have.

Also with bitcoin its good to have this for long term and we know how big the potential for this coin to grow in value that's why I don't want to ignore any of it but rather I choose both to get better result on each investments I made.

[TheUltraElite]

Each type of asset has its pros and cons and none of them are superior than another. Since bitcoin is new to this group compared to the rest, it might be getting the maximum support in this forum, but in the outside world, this might not be the case because the forum represents a small section of the entire population of this world.

Hence my opinion is to keep all these assets in in your portfolio, no matter the cost, all are important, because you never know which one will be useful than the other. Bitcoin is not accepted or easily spendable in every country while fiat is, again fiat is affected by inflation with bitcoin is deflationary, fiat is difficult to carry but gold bars are easy to carry and have a high value.

Hence a diligent investor knows their assets and does not become partial to one.

[SamReomo]

Bitcoin and gold are more likely purchased as assets then money, only fiat could be called money and is a good way to exchange goods. In ancient times Gold, Silvers and other precious metal were used for trading of goods but now people purchase them and hold them as assets rather than something that could be used to trade for goods.

Bitcoin was developed as a p2p electronic cash system that people can use to trade goods against it but it was engineered in a way that it slowly started getting scarce with just 21 million total supply with no printing/minting mechanism. Because of that nature of Bitcoin, investors got interested in it and hold it so it can grow in value. Now a days it's more likely used as an asset then as a p2p payment system.

Only fiat remains that could be used for trading of goods but as we all know that fiat isn't a full-proof system either because it's in control of governments and banks that could literally prints so many of it without any hesitation and that leads to drop of value overtime. However, fiat is still the easiest way to trade goods, however one day it might also get replaced by CBDCs or something similar.

[Kelward]

I don't think that there should be a better money among fiat, gold and Bitcoin, because they're all functioning independently and giving value to their holders in different ways, although each of them can be used as an alternative or as an exchange to the other. Bitcoin can not function efficiently as fiat because it's core usage is as investment, while fiat can not be stored as an investment because it's affected by inflation, while we can't carry physical gold around to make payments with it, because it's also a store of value like Bitcoin. However among the three Bitcoin, has more advantage because we can use it to pay for commodities and also hodl it as an investment.

[leonair]

It depends on which country you live in. FIAT money is subject to inflation which causes its value to gradually decrease.  But inflation rates are not the same in all countries. If you live in the United States where the local currency is the dollar, you can hold FIAT money and the value of your money will not decrease much. But if you want to get profit along with this then you can invest your money in both gold and bitcoin assets but investing in gold has low risk while investing in bitcoin has high risk. So how much risk one is able to take depends on who is comfortable with which FIAT, GOLD or Bitcoin

[serjent05]

I'm not sure why you need to trust words that come from Boomers?

They have more experience than the new generation, they experienced hard times and have proven their expertise.  If asked which one would I consider, I would consider  the suggestion of people who have enough experience in life than people who are just setting up to test the waters.

We're in different generations, they see investment is tangible asset, that's why they own real estate and gold.

Not all boomers are close minded, there are also many of these generation who are open-minded and is able to accept the changes in their environment.

While the current generation is full of technology, we can chit-chat using cellphone instead of envelopes, we can read news in cellphone instead of newspaper etc. And now we have Bitcoin, something that decentralized and intangible, if there are still many young generation didn't trust in Bitcoin, how about Boomers?

According to the internet baby boomers' age range from 57 to 75 as of this year 2024, I would be convinced to believe in you if we can't find people in this age range that are into Bitcoin.


In the mind of a freedom-lover person, nothing beats Bitcoin being a better money because it conveys freedom of transaction and can't be hinder its transfer by any third party authority as long as the transaction is made via P2P.  While others who have different perspectives can choose the other option.  In short, the answer to the question about which one is the better money will always be subjective.

[Cryptomultiplier]

Obviously, today's price is the best predictor and that's a fact when we ponder on the price of BTC after 24hrs trading day. Even with fiat, it can only continue to be a better option for daily and international transactions, if government policies and the law is very efficient and judicious in carrying out there due diligence.

One thing also is that Bitcoin and gold right now wants to be controlled by the government and it is already being regulated. The investors or owners of BTC are taxed just as much as they can also use it to pay their taxes, and this is a requirement before it began to being accepted in many countries including Argentina and Malaysia of whom are just getting onboard like other countries like Lugano and El Salvador. It is taxed more than fiat which is being seen as an asset, while Bitcoin and gold are seen as commodities.

[Yatsan]

Depends on how will it be used. If it is for daily transactions then fiat would always be considered by more people given that not everyone are interested with blockchain technology. Also, transaction fees are still high at this point. Not to mention how volatile Bitcoin's market price as well, which could be a problem in particular with balance and stability of marketable goods' price. With gold, it is much better as an asset to be held for years. The long debate on which currency should be more used between Bitcoin and Fiat, should long be answered. I believe that these two would better just co-exist as modes of payment than to only pick one. Both has its own advantages and I guess this should settle it.

It depends on which country you live in. FIAT money is subject to inflation which causes its value to gradually decrease.  But inflation rates are not the same in all countries. If you live in the United States where the local currency is the dollar, you can hold FIAT money and the value of your money will not decrease much. But if you want to get profit along with this then you can invest your money in both gold and bitcoin assets but investing in gold has low risk while investing in bitcoin has high risk. So how much risk one is able to take depends on who is comfortable with which FIAT, GOLD or Bitcoin

Depends indeed on what country you reside. Bitcoin has been introduced for more than a decade and yet people still are not convinced to patronize it or make use of it the way they uses fiat. Much better if we will just use based on our preferences than to push the idea to all people we have no control of, in the first place.

[peter0425]

Listen what this Austrian Economics / Mises Institute author of a book titled Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin? says here:

https://youtu.be/g7vI957pg7U&t=2597

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

Quite an unfair comparison. One is a local currency issued by the government itself and the other two are assets in which you can invest in.

Both fiat and investment are important. In today’s age I don’t think you can pick just one. Having fiat only and no investment might put you into some economic trouble in the future and not having any fiat will surely not help you either. It depends on the context really

[iv4n]

"It can be higher, it can be lower..."... I can't say that I heard anything new in the 10 or so minutes that I listened to. We have been hearing the same things for years, never enough stories from so many experts around... and as far as the action is concerned, Bitcoin proved to be unmatched, breaking records every few years. The conclusion is simple according to some of my thinking, people (experts) will continue to talk about anything and everything. Some will be too optimistic, some pessimistic, and Bitcoin will slowly continue to conquer the world and gain value over the time.

[harapan]

these three instruments have their respective advantages and disadvantages, so we cannot conclude which is the best or the worst because all three have their respective uses. bitcoin has better performance compared to the three, but its value fluctuates. as for gold, it is suitable for use as a stable investment but is inefficient for use as a daily transaction. lastly for fiat, it can easily be used for everyday transactions, but its supply can be manipulated and its value is closely tied to economic and political conditions. all three have their own characteristics and depending on the individual they can say that bitcoin is better than those three, or gold, or fiat.

That's true,they're all money,yes,and they serve as a means of exchange or payment irrespective of where and how people see it,and you can't change that fact.
Although bitcoin and gold have the same similarities,bitcoin portrays an undeniable element of security compared to gold.But I prefer bit coin serves as a better version of what money is called.
  Honestly,I don't think this comparison is necessary,there's no bad one amongst them,expect that they have their own lapses and malfunction occasionally.

[WillyAp]

All money is basically good.
You can fed yourself, pay your dentist and all that.
It does not matter as long as you own from each value more than enough.

[red4slash]

We too often discuss and compare things like this where we only always focus on which one is better than some benchmarks that we think are good as if it is an important part that must be found the answer where when one of the ones we compare gets positive things it will be considered the best and the other is bad.

We've gotten to the point where we're just always comparing each other but don't realize that it doesn't really matter because every view is a matter of perspective and it's up to each person to say whats best because everyone has their own arguments. I actually see quite often and quite bored too where bitcoin is always a comparison with real estate gold or other valuable assets as if it is worth comparing and seeing which one is the best when if we look at the further side as long as they are useful when it is all very good it just depends on the perception we see because all have their own advantages .

[bitzizzix]

Gold is a good investment compared to paper money or fiat, but when compared to Bitcoin, Bitcoin is much better than both.
And the great thing about having all three, fiat is an important need that we still use to be able to meet our needs as a transaction tool if Bitcoin is prohibited from being used as a transaction tool, and money can be saved for sudden needs or used as an emergency fund.
However, gold is a more stable investment and the price does not fluctuate like Bitcoin, and in terms of profits, Bitcoin is much better and bigger than gold. And indeed Bitcoin has a big risk because of its fluctuating nature, but if we treat it in the long term, in my opinion there is no risk whatsoever. Because we only buy and buy when prices are cheap and sell again when prices are high, and without caring about time because it is long term. And Bitcoin's long-term track record has always provided satisfactory results compared to gold because it is very stable.

[m2017]

Listen what this Austrian Economics / Mises Institute author of a book titled Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin? says here:

Gold has not served as money for quite some time. Money lost its link to gold around the middle of the last century (1942). Bretton Woods system replaced Gold standard.

Bitcoin didn't have time to assume the role of “money” and turned into an “investment” asset. The share of bitcoin used as money is negligible and ridiculous. It is still very early to call bitcoin money (if such a thing ever happens).

Of these three “moneys” listed, only fiat is truly money.

I don't see any reason to think that the price of Bitcoin is going to be predictably higher in the future.

🤦‍♂️

I have reason to believe that the price of bitcoin will always differ unpredictably from the present one.

[doomloop]

It depends on which country you live in. FIAT money is subject to inflation which causes its value to gradually decrease.  But inflation rates are not the same in all countries. If you live in the United States where the local currency is the dollar, you can hold FIAT money and the value of your money will not decrease much. But if you want to get profit along with this then you can invest your money in both gold and bitcoin assets but investing in gold has low risk while investing in bitcoin has high risk. So how much risk one is able to take depends on who is comfortable with which FIAT, GOLD or Bitcoin

Risk is not alone but there must also be a catch with it like for example gold is you said low risk but the catch is that the profits that we can get on here is also much lower compared to a high-risk asset like BTC. There are people who watch out for the risks before they invest and ensures that they can only lose less, while some look directly on how much profit they can get.

Even though both are still taking a risk but the second/last one I said must be the real definition of a risk taker. Gold and BTC isn't the only way to earn money but we can also put our fiat money on something like a bank. We can also do the same in lending platforms. In the online world, specifically in crypto, there is also what we called as staking and obviously, we need to convert our physical fiat first into a digital one or stable coin before we get started.

[STT]

The US abandoned the gold standard in 1971 because they didn’t have a choice.

The choice was to reduce spending and repay debt as required, that means a budget surplus which is hard for any country to do.  The choice made was sound money was no longer useful to a country with a dominant position.  The origins of the gold standard was when USA was still a new country, in recovery from 2 major wars including the civil war as well as actually settling a large continent with few people at the time so sound money was required not optional.

[BD Technical]

All three things are related to your investment because you can criticize here if you can invest and you have to learn these things to achieve success.  Nothing can be successful without running. In case you are studying, you have to do your learning.  We know you will miss out on everything because if you don't invest you will never make it but no matter what Riyad or Bitcoin says you have to invest.  But anyway, many people are not faithful in these matters, many people believe in cash or even if they invest their money or their money in many areas, they do not like their risk.  But I think actually everyone is everyone's activities or everyone is on everyone's platform, they are valid or they are right according to them.  But invest always brings success.

[Zanab247]

To me, the 3 are very important to humanity and they have played a good role to improve people investments, and people are still willing to use them at any time to achieve their goal.

If you ask me the one I prefer among the 3, is BTC because I started using it some years ago and I have seen reason why is better than fiat and gold, BTC is a decentralized currency that is not control by the government, and it add value to those that is using it for short or long term investments.

If you hodl your fiat in the bank or hodl gold like 5 years before you can withdraw them to use the money, you will not earn what BTC hodler that hodl like 5 years will earn which is the reason I prefer BTC than fiat and gold.

[OrangeII]

if we discuss the medium of exchange, then I think fiat is the most suitable medium of exchange used currently in real life. That's why almost all countries have their own fiat. However, if it is an investment then I choose gold and bitcoin. Even though Bitcoin can be used as an alternative payment, I think it would be a shame to use an asset that has the potential to be exchanged for something. well, it doesn't matter if you have a lot of bitcoins, but if I have fiat, I will use fiat as a means of payment.

[legendbtc]

To me, the 3 are very important to humanity and they have played a good role to improve people investments, and people are still willing to use them at any time to achieve their goal.

Indeed, all 3 are important and have their own use cases, so I will choose all 3. Bitcoin is used for investment because of its huge growth potential, gold can be considered the best safe haven because of its stability, while fiat currency is used for necessities daily. Why do we always have to compare them when we can have all three?

If you ask me the one I prefer among the 3, is BTC because I started using it some years ago and I have seen reason why is better than fiat and gold, BTC is a decentralized currency that is not control by the government, and it add value to those that is using it for short or long term investments.

If you hodl your fiat in the bank or hodl gold like 5 years before you can withdraw them to use the money, you will not earn what BTC hodler that hodl like 5 years will earn which is the reason I prefer BTC than fiat and gold.

BTC will be the priority of the majority of people, the biggest reason is that everyone needs money, everyone wants to have a lot of money and bitcoin is the asset that can meet that for us. Profit is what many of us aim for when choosing bitcoin, IMO.

[STT]

The other perspective to this is not rely on your own opinion of each asset you might hold but check you know the desire of your trading partner.

If you want to buy something from people who make a required product  or own it then you must exchange something of worth to them.  If China and India both value gold for many decades and into the future then gold is money quite easily and they may not want the alternatives you value.