Can Bitcoin Liberate Gold?

[simonbtc]

A common complaint from gold investors is that the benchmark price of physical gold, set twice daily in London by a handful of banks, is open to manipulation.  There is currently a lawsuit underway concerning such allegations and the benchmark is due to be replaced in early 2015 because of incoming financial regulations stemming from the LIBOR scandal.

With the emergence of Bitcoin as a platform to transfer assets other than BTC, I believe that if entrepreneurs and gold stakeholders were to support the development of investor products based around gold-backed Bitcoin assets, a new price benchmark for physical gold could emerge.  With the bulk of the world's gold production and consumption now in Asia, and new gold exchanges having launched there recently, Bitcoin could help tip the balance, and we could enter a new era where the price of gold is no longer influenced so much by London.  For some, this would be liberation.

I have put together a short paper to explore this topic, including how to create a new Bitcoin asset in just a few minutes and why these assets are superior to existing gold instruments.  It's currently a working draft and your feedback is most welcome.  Please feel free to comment here or within the Google Document itself.  Thank you!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15VG1f8Jwkl6eKLsqGv1KdUUgVRkQleaXr33JgDL-4So/edit?usp=sharing

Note: I am involved in a Bitcoin assets project, within the colored coins family, called CoinSpark.  You can find out more here: http://www.coinspark.org

Update: Example diagram showing how GoldCo can securitize their gold holdings as Bitcoin assets

https://i.imgur.com/BUPDtSN.jpg?1

[H.W.Z]

I don't think it is easy. The elite bankers in London wouldn't let it happen.

[arbitrage001]

Gold is chosen by the people and proven for many centuries.

[catlinhappy]

It will be very hard because bitcoin is not physical, European economist wives cannot use bitcoin for their expensive jewelries and store of value but this does not mean that bitcoin price cannot be higher than gold.

[AtheistAKASaneBrain]

most of the gold in the US is gone, replaced as tungsten bars coated in gold (check google, some interesting bombshells there).

[BRE]

That will not happen , Because Bitcoin is not real money but merely a different way of employing existent fiat money, obviously it cannot replace it.

[The Bad Guy]

Gold is chosen by the people and proven for many centuries.

Vouch for that . Gold can't lose his value . and Bitcoin will never defeat it
not now , not next year , not never.

[yayayo]

Gold is chosen by the people and proven for many centuries.

Vouch for that . Gold can't lose his value . and Bitcoin will never defeat it
not now , not next year , not never.

I disagree. Nothing will exist forever.

It's highly unlikely that gold will loose its value. But it's not impossible.
I don't understand why people talk about Bitcoin defeating gold and vice versa. Why can't both be used in parallel? For me, that's the most likely scenario.

Gold does not need to be liberated, gold is free already. The paper market and the physical market are not one and the same. They differ in pricing. I predict this difference to increase once people begin to realize that paper gold is not the real thing. Soaring inflation will drive people into precious metals and Bitcoin. Both assets are in limited supply. More and more people will demand delivery of the real asset, uncovering fraudulent activities.

ya.ya.yo!

[OROBTC]

...

simonbtc

That is a very interesting paper.  I pretty much believe that FreeGold will happen more-or-less as envisioned by FOFOA and others (fofoa.blogspot.com).

Here are a couple of suggestions for your paper (make up some simple examples):

1)  You might put a diagram or schematic in to illustrate a Bitcoin Asset and/or a Bitcoin Gold Asset

2)  Similarly, show us an example of a wallet tied to, say, a 1/10th oz gold coin (this is a common small sized bullion coin)


*     *     *


yayayo

I completely agree.  Au and BTC complement each other, they are different kinds of assets.

[countryfree]

Gold investors and BTC investors are very different people. I've seen here that a few BTC owners were interested in gold, but real gold owners (not the people who own paper gold or a few bullions) have no interest at all in BTC.

[DhaniBoy]

I do not think it is necessary to outdo each other between the gold and the bitcoin, supposedly between gold and bitcoin together to support each other, it is because gold and precious objects that bitcoin is equally free from monopoly and government regulation, so many people will invest in gold and bitcoin, wait on the game ... 

[simonbtc]

1)  You might put a diagram or schematic in to illustrate a Bitcoin Asset and/or a Bitcoin Gold Asset

2)  Similarly, show us an example of a wallet tied to, say, a 1/10th oz gold coin (this is a common small sized bullion coin)

Thanks OROBTC, that's a good idea.  Is a high-level view sufficient - where Bitcoin is treated as a black box - or do you think readers would benefit from a bit more detail?  I think dropping down to OP_RETURN and transaction outputs might be too much.

[OROBTC]

...

simonbtc

Simplicity!

 

Yours is an introductory paper.  Save the more complicated material for Part Two...

[yayayo]

Gold investors and BTC investors are very different people. I've seen here that a few BTC owners were interested in gold, but real gold owners (not the people who own paper gold or a few bullions) have no interest at all in BTC.

No they're not! I think there are lots of Bitcoiners that also like gold. After all Bitcoin is modeled very much like precious metals (mining, predictable monetary inflation).

A good indication is the fact that precious metal dealers were among the first to accept Bitcoin.

You're right that there are people both in the Bitcoin and precious metal sphere that are highly intolerant in regard to any asset that's not Bitcoin / gold. However just because they are frequently voicing their opinion it's not proven that these people constitute the majority. Maybe there's a silent majority that is buying both assets...

ya.ya.yo!

[STT]

I don't think it is easy. The elite bankers in London wouldn't let it happen.

If gold has value as a reliable asset it wont be controlled exclusively by bankers in one country.   Either its a useful capitalist asset of exchange or its as flawed as dollar issued to serve politics.

Bitcoin has similar value from independance alledgely but I think they differ greatly in their makeup.  Gold is a heavy, hard to store asset and naturally exchange is slower and subject to ownership and legal controls.    Bitcoin is instant, light and incredibly easy to store, exchange, transfer and not subject to legal disputes and other hang ups.   Connecting the two will probably be done by exchange or proprietary company control and I dont see them easily making a gold digi coin as such.   I hope its possible, just seems too hard like put clouds in a jar or something

[Gianluca95]

I don't think it is easy. The elite bankers in London wouldn't let it happen.

Exactly. Consider that a great percentage of the gold reserve is managed by the banks of all the world. Anyway, bitcoin can not liberate gold IMHO because bitcoin is total another thing in confront of gold. GOLD is a bubble which is born 6.000 years ago. Why gold have some value? Because people wants to take some value to the gold. Bitcoin is a form of payment, a cryptocurrency, not a good like gold.

[BitMos]

Gold is chosen by the people and proven for many centuries.

there were many pharaohs, it doesn't make it right. I prefer to walk in a river bed glittering with dust of gold, than seeing a stupid creation having necessited the destruction of this natural and original river bed. It's a question of value, simply. The core is that the 2 value system can not cohabite together. You want the dust of the river bed, I want to nap next to the glittering river. We are in a conflict. As such you agree that the strongest force will win, in a systemic neutral and realistic way to achieve the defense for all to be able to enjoy the river that glitters with gold dust (a true natural Art Work). The mastering of destruction teaches the effienctliest the value of what is. your problem is that you aren't ruthless enough to understand destruction so there is no hope in apprehending preservation or conservation of what was made before men and that is the most perfect that you could ever seen. And that in the creations of man, there can't be the same touch as the Force that created the Universe, the stars and beyond . If you can't appreciate the Art of God what is left from you? How could you even appreciate the Art of Mankind? my precious right? paper was invented to replace gold, bitcoin came to replace paper (it's cleaner:D).

[Erdogan]

Gold is not useful when it is stored in central banks, not even if they run their fiat as a traditional gold standard system. It is only useful if the gold is spread wide in private ownership among most citizens. It does not have to be used as the primary day to day currency, just being the reference and the preferred money for long time stashing.

[Atdhe]

That will not happen , Because Bitcoin is not real money but merely a different way of employing existent fiat money, obviously it cannot replace it.

No money is real. The value of gold is no way real. Just people believe stil strongly that some metals are real money and that beief will be hard to crack.

Even at Gold standard of course most of the money were fiat money emited by banks that were NOT backed by gold. Money is NOT just notes, but cheques etc.

Money itself is always just a symbol of debt casted on something. I believe that cryprocurrencies will one day make gold obsolete as money.

[Atdhe]

Bitcoin is a form of payment, a cryptocurrency, not a good like gold.

I am buying Bitcoin exactly for the purpose as other people buy gold. Once/if more people will think like me, bitcoin will become new gold, because people will believe in inner value of the BTC and it does not matter if there is inner value or not (gold does not have some inner value as well, or many times smaller than it is valued on market now).

There were times when people valued some commodities as money and now they are gone. The commodities are just commodities and lost most of the value. Why it happened? Or rather when it happened? Always because some technological change appeared and some other potential money appeared and then prevailed.

Maybe cryptocurrencies are not that good, but nothing lasts forever, even the gold dominance. Gold stopped to be used decades ago, handling gold is extremely expensive and unhandy nowadays. I do not see a reason why this should not change.

Look at internet domains who are merely non-physical asset. Yet it is asset with huge value and nobody would believe in it few years ago.

Gold need just one thing: let the generations of gold lovers bankrupt, which will be easy, because they do not understand the new economy.