Bitcoin or Gold? What would you pick?

[STT]

Aren't there other metals that are cheap but could give similar results that gold would make? Also what if you were to get a gold bar for example, but it is not gold all the way through but rather hollow in the middle?

No we've discussed that, the weight or the dimensions will be wrong.   Using standard principle true for thousands of years.    The tungsten replacement is a maybe, it is a close weight but a very different metal in its make up.
This video makes the super simple test of sound or vibration and true enough it will catch fakes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boB4yyS-fDk
That is why I rate coins over bars not that Im burdened by such a choice

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[onezerobit]

If given a choice to walk away with either Bitcoin or gold of equivalent value, what would you pick?

Asians and Westerners were asked in Taipei in Chinese and English if they would take Bitcoin or gold home with them that day, and the answer might surprise you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6GiC8dqN9A

We just shot a video outside the Taipei 101 skyscraper area here and gave people a chance to answer if they would walk away with either Bitcoin or gold- and why.

If you were approached and were offered the same deal, would you walk away with Bitcoin or gold in your pocket, and why???

I would rather walk away with both.
As only limited number of bitcoins can be mined (21million approx.) Gold is limited to. It has been the source of spending power for a nation, where its currencies value is drived by the amount of gold the country holds.(this is one factor of many other contributing to the currency value.)
So yes, walk away with both, stash your gold far away from prying eyes, and bitcoins a little farther then that.

[Ilsk]

Bitcoin are easier to move and easier to hide, that's why they are better than gold.

[unpure]

Bitcoin are easier to move and easier to hide, that's why they are better than gold.

Easier to hide also mean easier to loss it.

[onezerobit]

Bitcoin are easier to move and easier to hide, that's why they are better than gold.

Say that to KLee, i feel sorry for him, he lost 1170 BTC lately. He recovered a fraction of it though.

[deisik]

gold, since bitcoin can be banned

Bitcoin can be banned, but it is not that easily taken away. And gold has already been banned and expropriated by Roosevelt in 1930s in the USA...

When buying physical gold, never forget about this!

[desired_username]

Or you could just use the plain ol' Archimedes' principle. And yes, I know that tungsten has almost the same density as gold, but not as good electric conductivity (mildly speaking). So no need for drilling or dangerous acids.

Have you done it before?

You have to precisely measure the weight of the item and the water pushed out. The smaller the piece of gold the harder to do this.

Measuring conductivity does not work with tungsten plated with gold. Besides tungsten, there are some other ways to fake gold too.

The point is that verifying gold is hassle.

[igorr]

Gold

[serje]

I would pick BTC!!! It's the best solution for everything!

Soon people will realize how big commissions they pay to banks and will slowly move to BTC! Stay tuned!

[boumalo]

I would pick BTC!!! It's the best solution for everything!

Soon people will realize how big commissions they pay to banks and will slowly move to BTC! Stay tuned!

They will realise that saving in a currency that will be inflated and is manipulated is less interesting than in a fair currency that is technologically superior as well

[serje]

I would pick BTC!!! It's the best solution for everything!

Soon people will realize how big commissions they pay to banks and will slowly move to BTC! Stay tuned!

They will realise that saving in a currency that will be inflated and is manipulated is less interesting than in a fair currency that is technologically superior as well

Everything can be manipulated!

Even USD is manipulated by the people who go out everyday and make news about the un-employment rate in USA ... if they want it to go up they just say unemployment is 12% and we were expecting it to be around 15% ... and everyone is going nuts and buys USD .... so this manipulating thing is happening every day .... people have to learn that THEY decide what is best for THEM not someone ELSE!

[STT]

Dollars are far more easy to alter.   Gold is a fundamental element, nobody here knows how stop its atomic properties being the same they have always been - to truly manipulate that market requires significant actions.  We can lie about dollars, it is not a fixed entity at all.   China can lie about its gold reserves or whatever, its really much harder for them to hide.  They are the worlds largest producer now, we can just take a photo from space of their mines if need be, etc.  
 
BTC value is contained in its structure, the failures we have seen have been in websites that revolve around it.   So again its superior to dollar, dollars themselves are flawed cotton notes with a promise written on it

Bitcoin can be banned, but it is not that easily taken away. And gold has already been banned and expropriated by Roosevelt in 1930s in the USA...

When buying physical gold, never forget about this!

That was within the USA borders.   This was not a fair law, the rich kept their gold outside the country.   Jewellery was allowed afaik.   Any physical possession can be seized, federal agencies do this to this day.  The NSA probably records this website and associated ip and so on

Measuring conductivity does not work with tungsten plated with gold. Besides tungsten, there are some other ways to fake gold too.

The point is that verifying gold is hassle.

The only way tungsten helps fakes is when trust is involved in the seller.   So via ebay, it might be great way to fake.   If you refuse to buy coins and obviously tungstun can be detected there then bars require more examination but I think anyone spending 10k will have enough equipment to tell a fake tungsten bar from pure gold.    If nothing else, buy from a company you can sue not ebay, a proper jeweller or bar retailer should be actively looking

If I trust the seller or the shop and I make no check then its a good cover, it is a close weight but I believe they can tell fake bars when checked.  Spending 10k or more without doing any test I think would be a mistake and if less then use coins.
 If nothing else when central banks transfer gold bullion, they reforge what they receive.      Here is a vid on ultrasonic for bars, no acid or drilling - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FvM_4B7Pkc

[Cortex7]

It's a no brainer, I would choose BTC.

If I wanted a little gold also from the gift then I could order it online quickly using some fraction of the BTC I received.

It would be more of a hassle if I received gold and then also wanted a little BTC, especially if the gold received was one piece.

[powerguy]

I pick bitcoin! bitcoin will be huge

[sandykho47]

I think will pick BTC
no one can made a fake BTC 
and in future, bitcoin price will rise up

I would pick bitcoin of course, Last year I bought 120gr of Gold for investment, it was full of shit..

All gold investment that i have see, all of them are fake 
That's why i choose BTC

[BTCreward]

Bitcoin is by far the better choice because it is much easier to transfer bitcoin around the world basically for free while you would have to pay some kind of shipping cost to send gold

[tee-rex]

Or you could just use the plain ol' Archimedes' principle. And yes, I know that tungsten has almost the same density as gold, but not as good electric conductivity (mildly speaking). So no need for drilling or dangerous acids.

Have you done it before?

You have to precisely measure the weight of the item and the water pushed out. The smaller the piece of gold the harder to do this.

Yes, in my younger (school) years, that's why I know about the Archimedes principle!

In my mind I pictured measuring something more like a gold bar, not the likes of a gold ring. But, as someone rightly noted before, when you have a gold bar, you will have a person to check its authenticity. Regarding conductivity, I'm not an electrician to say if you are wrong, but as I know, conductivity (the reciprocal of electrical resistivity) is proportional to the cross-sectional area of the specimen, so I don't see problems with measuring conductivity of a gold plated tungsten bar.

[Cortex7]

...I don't see problems with measuring conductivity of a gold plated tungsten bar...

For a simple resistance check, the amount of current you would have to push through to get out of the noise would require very good large surface area electrical connections at each end of the bar. This would require more machining of the bar than a simple small hole or two that could be refilled with molten gold after heating the bar to accept the melt.

More preferable would be non invasive ultrasonic scanning:

http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/applications/ut-testing-gold-bars/

edit: I think one non invasive way to measure resistance would be a VERY high field induction test over a second or less while analysing the thermal response of the bar using an IR camera. I have not seen reference to this online. It would take more energy than ultrasonic scanning.

[tee-rex]

...I don't see problems with measuring conductivity of a gold plated tungsten bar...

For a simple resistance check, the amount of current you would have to push through to get out of the noise would require very good large surface area electrical connections at each end of the bar. This would require more machining of the bar than a simple small hole or two that could be refilled with molten gold after heating the bar to accept the melt.

Gold is one of the best electric conductors out there (being only the second best after silver, if I'm not mistaken). So, if you can't get out of the noise, you've been had and are playing with a fake gold bar.

[ajareselde]

Smart traders allways say to diversify you portfolio, so im 30% in EUR, 30% in bitcoin, and im using remaining 40% for short term trades, 0% in gold, simply because i believe its overrated.
If the markets show stronger tentions in crypto, im prepared to sell half of my bitcoin holdings, as some kind of a stop loss.
By the end of the year, it will be more clear on the question where is bitcoin going, and will it be allowed to take the next leap.