Bitcoin or Gold? What would you pick?

[kekky]

Picture this. You get approached on the street and offered a straight deal: walk away with Bitcoin or walk away with gold of the same value. 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???

[gagalady]

Would take bitcoin because i believe that bitcoin has much bigger potential in price. I would also use bitcoins to buy/sell things which you can't do with gold.

[Meuh6879]

you can't use gold because it's bank that it "build the FIAT value".

[counter]

This similar question has been asked on this forum but the difference wast the gold was an ounce I believe.  You bet if I had to pick today it would be the Bitcoin.  Even though the price may not be as good as the gold over a short period of time I'd still take the Bitcoin.

[joinmicah]

I would Hedge BITCOIN Against The Dropping prices of GOLD and SILVER because of the Illegal Manipulation of the SILVER and GOLD PAPER MARKET! This is the best way to WIN!

[joae1975]

Gold, every day all day.  Time will tell, but when the economic USD shit hits the fan, people will flock to gold-silver, not btc.  There's no historical precedence for it.  Btc is a bubble.

[QuestionAuthority]

I would take the gold and sell it for Bitcoins. Then I would trade the Bitcoins for cadillac margaritas, porterhouse steaks and prostitutes until it was all gone.

[Tsquared]

BTC because I'd have no way to verify the gold but I would be able to verify the authenticity of the BTC. I used to be involved in the jewelry business, and I can assure you that you have a much higher chance of being scammed dealing with gold than you do dealing with BTC.

TT

[joae1975]

I would take the gold and sell it for Bitcoins. Then I would trade the Bitcoins for cadillac margaritas, porterhouse steaks and prostitutes until it was all gone.

As long as you're not using bitpay or similar service, that can work.  But until people get payed in btc, buy gas/food/rent/etc in btc, without a bitpay service, it's never going to work.

I take only verified gold/silver.  Coins/bullion/etc, no jewlrey.

[Peter R]

If the market value is the same, I would take the bitcoins.  Here's why:

1.  I can immediately verify that the bitcoins are real (Tsquared said this above).

2.  The bitcoins can be directly sent to an address to which I have the private-key stored safely away, eliminating the risk of pickpockets or thieves.

3.  I can complete the transfer without touching the other person or his belongings (I would question anyone giving away free money, so I would assume it was some kind of a trick).

4.  I would retain plausible deniability that I actually received the coins; perhaps this was some sort of a weird sting operation in a foreign land where possession of gold had been outlawed.

5.  If I was in a foreign country, I would not have to worry about declaring the gold on my way home or having it seized by a corrupt airport official.

6.  It is actually illegal to take gold out of certain countries (Nepal for instance), so if this happened on the streets of Kathmandu, bitcoin would be far superior as I wouldn't risk being locked in jail for breaking some strange law that I may not know about.   

[ArticMine]

If the market value is the same, I would take the bitcoins.  Here's why:

1.  I can immediately verify that the bitcoins are real (Tsquared said this above).

2.  The bitcoins can be directly sent to an address to which I have the private-key stored safely away, eliminating the risk of pickpockets or thieves.

3.  I can complete the transfer without touching the other person or his belongings (I would question anyone giving away free money, so I would assume it was some kind of a trick).

4.  I would retain plausible deniability that I actually received the coins; perhaps this was some sort of a weird sting operation in a foreign land where possession of gold had been outlawed.

5.  If I was in a foreign country, I would not have to worry about declaring the gold on my way home or having it seized by a corrupt airport official.

6.  It is actually illegal to take gold out of certain countries (Nepal for instance), so if this happened on the streets of Kathmandu, bitcoin would be far superior as I wouldn't risk being locked in jail for breaking some strange law that I may not know about.   

Or in other words it is far easier, cheaper and safer to take delivery of bitcoin than of gold. This is the reason why I would take the bitcoins. It is also the reason why I believe that bitcoin will take most of the market value currently assigned to gold away from gold.

[sclaggett]

Peter brings up some excellent points of how bitcoin can be compared to gold.  I believe for anyone it depends upon how they perceive bitcoin and plan to use it.  One would have to ask themselves:

Is it a commodity or security investment?  
Do I need it to be readily available?
Do I want to barter/buy things with it?
Do I want to use it to hedge against inflation?

Lastly why should anyone trust gold anymore than bitcoins.  Yes it is a physical commodity but the dynamics of its price can be impacted by many external factors.  They are both mined as well :-)

Doesn't this gold chart look a lot like a bitcoin chart - We just accelerated the timeframe just as bitcoin accelerates everything.

http://www.kitco.com/LFgif/au3650nyb.gif

[ArticMine]

It is a myth that gold is a good hedge against inflation over time. Take a look at this chart from 1980 to 2013.
From http://www.aboutinflation.com/gold-vs-inflation. There was a brutal bear market in gold from 1980 to 2001.

[DubFX]

What would happen if next big gold source somewhere on the earth would appear? Would the price of gold go down?

[keithers]

Up until this point I have picked BTC. Investing in BTC has made me want to start investing more in gold though.

[acoindr]

What would happen if next big gold source somewhere on the earth would appear? Would the price of gold go down?

Yes. Any time you add to supply you get inflation. Gold is still really rare, though. All of the gold ever mined would only fill about 2 1/2 olympic sized swimming pools. It's unlikely a really big gold source would be found where all the gold was in one place and fairly easy/cost effective to mine. For that reason ounces of gold available per person wanting them is still really scarce (like bitcoin) and likely to stay that way. Don't even talk about what would happen in a fiat collapse.

[Soros Shorts]

I would take the bitcoins,  seeing that they weigh nothing.

[minerpart]

Great video, what do they call it in Japan? Bit a Bee??

No-one laughs at the mention of Bitcoin which is a good start. If it's taken seriously as a currency then it will be adopted when using it as a currency becomes easier.

[DubFX]

What would happen if next big gold source somewhere on the earth would appear? Would the price of gold go down?

Yes. Any time you add to supply you get inflation. Gold is still really rare, though. All of the gold ever mined would only fill about 2 1/2 olympic sized swimming pools. It's unlikely a really big gold source would be found where all the gold was in one place and fairly easy/cost effective to mine. For that reason ounces of gold available per person wanting them is still really scarce (like bitcoin) and likely to stay that way. Don't even talk about what would happen in a fiat collapse.

Yep that's what i've been thinking. Thank you for your explaination

[stevegraden]

Bitcoin over gold hands down.  Gold gets manipulated in futures market, and you cant transfer physical bitcoins over the internet. even using gold to back digital currency wouldnt be better than a decentralized one.