The two most important properties of Bitcoin

[headingnorth]

1. Bitcoin is a neutral asset
2. Bitcoin is a store of value

In a nutshell, those are the two most important properties to describe bitcoin.
It's what distinguishes bitcoin from any other crypto and makes it totally unique
from anything else IMO. When someone asks me why I invest in bitcoin, that is what I tell them.

It makes it easy for most people to understand IMO, to boil it down to those two simple points.

What makes bitcoin a neutral store of value?

1. Bitcoin is truly decentralized, meaning no person or small group of persons
    can unilaterally control it.
2. Unlike fiat and all the countless millions of shitcoins out there, bitcoin cannot be printed out of thin air.
3. Unlike fiat and all the shitcoins, it wasn't made to enrich its creator (Satoshi never profited from bitcoin).
4. Unlike ethereum, bitcoin does not have an unlimited and endless supply.


Comparison to Gold

1. Gold can also be a good neutral asset and store of value. But unlike bitcoin,
    you can't send and receive gold very easily. Delivering gold through the mail is very risky.

2. To buy and sell gold, you have to travel to a gold exchange. Depending where you live,
    you may not have one nearby. You have to physically transport the gold, which is a security risk.

3. Storing gold in your house is no better than storing large amounts of cash.
    Banks do not normally accept gold as a deposit, so you just have to store it in your house.
    That is a major security concern. Bitcoin solves the self-custody security problems of gold and cash.

4. Buying and selling larger amounts of gold can be a challenge. You always worry if you are
    buying real or counterfeit gold, and verifying its authenticity isn't always easy.

5. Bitcoin is used for digital payments, and adoption as a payment method is growing.
    Gold is not convenient as a payment method, and hasn't been used as a medium of
    exchange for hundreds of years, at least not in the modern world.

6. Unlike bitcoin, gold is not easily verifiable. A government can tell you it has two thousand tons of gold.
    But that claim is impossible to verify without you being there in person to see it for yourself.
    Which the government will never let you do. And even if they did you won't know if the gold bars
    are actually solid gold or just gold-plated. This is a problem with gold all over the world including the US
    which has not provided proof of its reserves in decades, despite orders from the courts and Congress to do so.
    They just simply ignore it.

Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

[Oshosondy]

Gold is scarce but it has no limited supply. Bitcoin has limited supply.
Gold is not easy to save. Bitcoin is easy to save if you read and understand about it.

These are the two areas that bitcoin is better than gold but gold has good side also as it can be used as jewelry and others. But what makes gold expensive today is what people think about it. Also exactly what makes bitcoin expensive today. That it is an investment. That it is scarce.

[BlackBoss_]

Gold is scarce but it has no limited supply. Bitcoin has limited supply.
Gold is not easy to save. Bitcoin is easy to save if you read and understand about it.

These are the two areas that bitcoin is better than gold but gold has good side also as it can be used as jewelry and others. But what makes gold expensive today is what people think about it. Also exactly what makes bitcoin expensive today. That it is an investment. That it is scarce.

Gold on Earth is limited but with advance of technologies, human will be able to mine more gold on Earth, it's a first uncertainty about gold total supply. Another thing is gold exists in the space, on asteroids and other planets that can be reachabled and mineable in the future.

These things are uncontrolled by human and gold investors while with Bitcoin, the total supply is 21M, not more. Technically, Bitcoin total supply can be increased by protocol upgrade but the fact is no Bitcoiners want it to happen and it is an impossible change in reality.

Between Bitcoin and Gold, Bitcoin has as less inflationary rate and demand rises very exponentially. Price of Bitcoin definitely will be beneficial by imbalance between supply and demand towards demand side.

[davis196]

I get your point. Counterfeit gold exists, while there's no such thing as counterfeit Bitcoin(all the hardforked Bitcoins aren't true Bitcoin).
I don't agree with you about storing gold in your house being dangerous. Small amounts of gold can be easily hidden, so that no one could ever find them. Nobody is going to hide several tons of gold in his house.
Nobody trusts governments and central banks, who claim that they own lots of gold, but usually the central banks hold their gold reserves in foreign banks, which pay those central banks interest for the gold(the gold is being used as a collateral for loans or it's being traded on the gold markets). Having a gold reserve and not using it doesn't bring any financial benefit for the central bank.

[Bitcoin_people]

Even if there is a shortage of gold worldwide, its supply is not limited, since gold is a natural resource. It is formed naturally in the earth's crust. However, we know that the supply of Bitcoin is limited, it cannot be increased even if we want to, and its demand is increasing day by day. We cannot easily store gold, but if you want, you can easily sell and buy Bitcoin. However, in the current digital world, people are becoming more interested in Bitcoin than gold, and big companies are increasing their reserves by investing in Bitcoin. To me, Bitcoin is a better asset for investment than gold, because it is a store of value. Its price increases a lot compared to gold and it will enter a higher price in the future.
Gold is ahead of Bitcoin in terms of global popularity, but Bitcoin is ahead in terms of online or trading investments.

[headingnorth]

Gold is scarce but it has no limited supply. Bitcoin has limited supply.
Gold is not easy to save. Bitcoin is easy to save if you read and understand about it.

I agree. When the price of gold goes up, it incentivizes people to mine more of it and the supply goes up.
But more bitcoin can't be created no matter how great the demand and price is rising.
There is a hard limit how much BTC can be mined each day, and that amount is cut in half every four years.
So the supply of bitcoin is not only capped but is also shrinking.

OTOH as the price of bitcoin goes up the supply of altcoins printed out of thin air also goes up by the billions
if not trillions. The amount is unlimited. Shitcoins are a replication of the fiat system of endless money printing,
but ten times worse. Altcoins are fiat money printing on steroids.

[Merit.s]

Gold and bitcoin are two different asset in different classes, therefore, there is no reason to compare both of them because they have their own separate pros and cons. Gold is a natural resource endowed by nature while bitcoin is a man made asset in the form of a currency. Gold has been in existence for a long time which has made it to be the number one safe haven asset.

However, I prefer bitcoin to gold because it gives the the opportunity to be my own bank without anyone notice that I have 1btc in my wallet.

OP, you can store gold and valuables in a bank because there are banks that offer such services. A vault will be given to you but you're to be paying for it. Gold supply is not limited because there are still place  in the world with large quantities of gold beneath the earth but people have found out of such places

[BitGoba]

2. Bitcoin is a store of value
Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

Bitcoin is money, what is money?

Money is anything that has the necessary qualities to serve as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.Monetary properties  make something usable as money, such as durability, portability, divisibility, limited supply ....




How did money originate?

At the beginning of human civilization, people exchanged goods for goods, but they realized there was a problem.If I produce wine and someone else produces meat, we can trade only if I want meat and they want wine at the same time. If not, the trade can’t happen easily. This problem makes bartering inefficient.

That’s why they realized they needed money.That it could serve as a common medium of exchange, making trade easier for everyone.That it could be a measure of value.It means money helps to express how much something is worth, so people can compare prices easily instead of guessing the value of goods during trade.Store of value means that money can keep its value over time, so you can save it and use it later without losing purchasing power.And it can be exchanged in the future , you can save money now and use it later to buy goods or services.People searched for good money,from whale teeth, shells, and stones,and eventually realized that gold was the best money because it had important qualities like durability and scarcity. However, gold didn’t have all the qualities of perfect money. That’s why banks and paper money backed by gold appeared.

Practically nothing physical in the world could have all the necessary qualities to be perfect money,until the digital age came and allowed the creation of a superior form of money like Bitcoin, which has all the essential monetary properties.

[Fiatless]

Gold is scarce but it has no limited supply. Bitcoin has limited supply.
Gold is not easy to save. Bitcoin is easy to save if you read and understand about it.

These are the two areas that bitcoin is better than gold but gold has good side also as it can be used as jewelry and others. But what makes gold expensive today is what people think about it. Also exactly what makes bitcoin expensive today. That it is an investment. That it is scarce.

To add to the differences you have rightly stated.
Bitcoin is can be moved from one place to another easily. During war or conflicts, you can easily move with your coin to a safe location without restrictions or detection. Due to its age, gold is more popular among conservative investors. Young investors prefer Bitcoin because of its flexibility and high profitability.


https://ihodl.com/infographics/2018-04-10/chart-day-bitcoin-vs-gold-vs-us-dollar/

[Smartprofit]

Yes, Satoshi Nakamoto has compared Bitcoin and gold several times in his posts on our Bitcointalk forum. From this I conclude that this analogy was important to him. Miners mine Bitcoin in the same way that people mine precious metals in underground mines. Bitcoin, like gold, is very difficult to mine. When demand for Bitcoin increases, supply cannot increase as well (this was originally intended). As a result, Bitcoin is a very scarce resource, which is not without reason called "digital gold".

At the same time, Bitcoin is a protocol for transferring value in virtual space. The disadvantage of gold is that it is a tangible asset that is very difficult to transport over long distances. In addition, auditing gold reserves is a very difficult task (in history, there have been many cases where gold bars were replaced with specially colored bars made of much cheaper metals). Bitcoin does not have these drawbacks!

That is why, in my opinion, Bitcoin is much more promising as a reserve asset than gold. However, it is very important that the first cryptocurrency retains its decentralization in the future, so that it does not become a purely American asset...

Therefore, I hope that other countries will also actively buy and mine Bitcoin, and create Bitcoin reserves.

[AprilioMP]

Gold is complicated. Gold transactions are not like currency.
Bitcoin is limited in quantity, while gold is not. As a store of value, Bitcoin and gold are both excellent, but Bitcoin is easier to maintain than gold, which is complicated because it is physical.
Gold is arguably not a currency that can be transacted like Bitcoin. Gold is generally known as jewelry by most users these days.
Yes, Bitcoin is simply a better version of gold.

[headingnorth]

OP, you can store gold and valuables in a bank because there are banks that offer such services. A vault will be given to you but you're to be paying for it. Gold supply is not limited because there are still place  in the world with large quantities of gold beneath the earth but people have found out of such places

I don't know about other countries but in the US the only way to store gold in a bank for the average person
is in a safe deposit box. But US banks generally don't recommend storing large amounts of cash
or gold in a safety deposit box. You can but they don't recommend it for security reasons.

Safety deposit boxes were made for holding your important documents, small amounts of jewelry or cash,
heirlooms, etc. not large amounts of cash or valuables. Some banks offer special custody for large amounts
of gold but only for high net worth individuals or institutions.

For example you can use something called JP Morgan Private Bank that can fully custody your gold, which is
much more secure than placing it in a safe deposit box, but your net worth has to be at least $10 million
to use the service, and the annual fees can be thousands of dollars. So as one of Chase bank's regular customers
I wouldn't be able to use it at the moment. But I'm sure with bitcoin one day I'll get there!

[Hatchy]

1. Bitcoin is a neutral asset
2. Bitcoin is a store of value
Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

The major feature of bitcoin is decentralisation, not really a store of value. Creating a system where no one, not the government or the creator would be able to control, that was the vision for its creation. bitcoin can serve variety of purposes, it all falls down to what you and I wish to use it for.

Gold can be manipulated, gold can be controlled, gold is a store of value. We just have to understand the difference and how good bitcoin has been changing the way the financial system is viewed. The rate of adoption has increased over the years and bitcoin continues to prove to the world why they should adopt it even more...

[FortuneFollower]

1. Bitcoin is a neutral asset
2. Bitcoin is a store of value
Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

The major feature of bitcoin is decentralisation, not really a store of value. Creating a system where no one, not the government or the creator would be able to control, that was the vision for its creation. bitcoin can serve variety of purposes, it all falls down to what you and I wish to use it for.

Gold can be manipulated, gold can be controlled, gold is a store of value. We just have to understand the difference and how good bitcoin has been changing the way the financial system is viewed. The rate of adoption has increased over the years and bitcoin continues to prove to the world why they should adopt it even more...

Bitcoin was created to not to be just a store of value - but an alternative to fiat.

And one day, there will be more people seeing it that way rather than just a store of value

[headingnorth]

1. Bitcoin is a neutral asset
2. Bitcoin is a store of value
Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

The major feature of bitcoin is decentralisation, not really a store of value. Creating a system where no one, not the government or the creator would be able to control, that was the vision for its creation. bitcoin can serve variety of purposes, it all falls down to what you and I wish to use it for.

Gold can be manipulated, gold can be controlled, gold is a store of value. We just have to understand the difference and how good bitcoin has been changing the way the financial system is viewed. The rate of adoption has increased over the years and bitcoin continues to prove to the world why they should adopt it even more...

Bitcoin is more than a store of value. People throw around the term 'store of value' a lot but what does
it actually mean? The more accurate term is preservation of value.

Only last year I could buy chicken thighs for 99 cents per lb. at any local grocery store.
But yesterday when I walked into the same store the same item costs me $2.50 per lb.
Same thing with raw steak or beef, prices of many basic food products in the USA more than doubled in less than a year.

In other words, holding onto cash, treasuries, bonds, etc. the value of your money is being stolen.
Even holding cash in a certificate of deposit or high yield savings account can't keep up with inflation.
The president's crazy tariff war certainly isn't helping.

Why not put money into stocks instead of bitcoin? The problem with the stock market is the counter-party risk.
Stocks and the companies they represent are highly centralized entities that come with massive counter-party risk.
Tomorrow Trump might decide to put 50% tariff on the products of the stock you are holding and your stock suddenly crashes
losing half its value within a few days.

If you were holding Boeing stock after the Dreamliner crash in India you would be screwed as the stock tanked.
Corporations are run by humans who have proven over and over they can't be trusted.

That's why Larry Fink himself described bitcoin as a safe haven asset, which of course a stock could never be.
Bitcoin preserves your wealth. If the $37 trillion dollar national debt wasn't bad enough to destroy the value
of your purchasing power, add to it the crazy tariff war and trillions more debt piled on by the Big Dumb Bill,
and it may not be long before we are seeing a massive collapse of the dollar and hyperinflation.

[fikrett]

Gold is complicated. Gold transactions are not like currency.
Bitcoin is limited in quantity, while gold is not. As a store of value, Bitcoin and gold are both excellent, but Bitcoin is easier to maintain than gold, which is complicated because it is physical.
Gold is arguably not a currency that can be transacted like Bitcoin. Gold is generally known as jewelry by most users these days.
Yes, Bitcoin is simply a better version of gold.

Bitcoin is a digital alternative to gold.

I wouldn't call it the digital gold - because both serve different purposes to a degree

[Catenaccio]

Bitcoin is a digital alternative to gold.

I wouldn't call it the digital gold - because both serve different purposes to a degree

If you would not like to call Bitcoin as Digital Gold, why you considered Bitcoin as an alternative for Gold?

It's confusing and conflicting with each other in your thinking. Bitcoin is Bitcoin and it does not need to be an alternative of either Gold or fiat currencies. Bitcoin is unique and it has enough good things to convince people about its value, usefulness and with time more people will realize Bitcoin technology and value. Consequently they will unavoidably choose Bitcoin as their most favorite investment asset as well as store of wealth.

[fikrett]

Bitcoin is a digital alternative to gold.

I wouldn't call it the digital gold - because both serve different purposes to a degree

If you would not like to call Bitcoin as Digital Gold, why you considered Bitcoin as an alternative for Gold?

It's confusing and conflicting with each other in your thinking. Bitcoin is Bitcoin and it does not need to be an alternative of either Gold or fiat currencies. Bitcoin is unique and it has enough good things to convince people about its value, usefulness and with time more people will realize Bitcoin technology and value. Consequently they will unavoidably choose Bitcoin as their most favorite investment asset as well as store of wealth.

Yeah, in the perspective, BTC is already and is going to be an alternative to fiat more than to gold.

As of now, we hear more about HODLIng it than using it, but I think this will change in the future to come.

[DanWalker]

Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

Are we doing this again?

There have been so many threads comparing bitcoin and gold, aren't you tired and what do you expect when you say this on the bitcoin forum? No matter what you say, there is one fact that you and those who are biased towards bitcoin cannot change. Gold is still the most treasured asset in the world and the only safe haven that investors will turn to in times of world turmoil, not bitcoin. Gold has a market cap 10 times larger than bitcoin, that is not going to change anytime soon and probably never will. No matter how large the gold supply is, it will never be enough to satisfy the world's thirst for gold, and they will not get bored of gold for that silly reason. The demand for gold will continue to increase and no other asset can keep up.

[hero_the_bossman]

Bitcoin is just a better version of gold.

Are we doing this again?

There have been so many threads comparing bitcoin and gold, aren't you tired and what do you expect when you say this on the bitcoin forum? No matter what you say, there is one fact that you and those who are biased towards bitcoin cannot change. Gold is still the most treasured asset in the world and the only safe haven that investors will turn to in times of world turmoil, not bitcoin. Gold has a market cap 10 times larger than bitcoin, that is not going to change anytime soon and probably never will. No matter how large the gold supply is, it will never be enough to satisfy the world's thirst for gold, and they will not get bored of gold for that silly reason. The demand for gold will continue to increase and no other asset can keep up.

Gold is the old and tested way, BTC - a new wave in the ocean so to speak.

We jsut need to be glad to use it now and in the decades to come, even though Gold's cap is bigger, BTC is better utility-wise..