Roy Sebag, the founder and CEO of Bitfarms, has joined the long line of disgruntled Bitcoin denouncers. The man with an obvious chip on his shoulder regarding Bitcoin also runs Goldmoney, a Canadian firm that deals in gold and precious metals investments.
The Israeli-Canadian investor recently said that the prices of silver, also known as “poor man’s gold” have been low in the last two decades partly because of the emergence of crypto. In his opinion, most speculative demand for silver was funneled to digital currencies. He reasons that investors bought crypto rather than silver because digital currencies are also easier to purchase in smaller increments.
Sebag went on and tweeted:
“Cryptocurrency has become the new poor man’s gold. I think the price of silver is spring coiled for a major move to $20-25 and I’ve been buying more silver at these levels. I suspect the move will occur in congress with a deflating of alt coins and perhaps Bitcoin.”
Gold and Bitcoin Prices Sync
As per a Bloomberg report, gold is suddenly getting much-needed attention from investors. The precious metal has stormed past the $1,400 an ounce mark. This are the highest values gold has witnessed since August 2013. Behind the rally lies the dovish stance the US Federal Reserve and central banks are taking on monetary policies. There is also political turbulence between the US and Iran as well as trade disagreements between China and the U.S.
The uncertainty is forcing more investors to gold. Since gold is majorly a hedge for the current political and economic turbulence, financial experts say that the most of the premiums gained on gold could be erased perchance the events surrounding the price hike are de-escalated. The focus will further turn to the USD as the market slowly comes under the pressure of the US policy on the fiat currency’s value.
Bitcoin (BTC) As The “Poor Mans Gold”
Looking at the statistics around Bitcoin investing, Roy Sebag is right about BTC becoming a store of value for the marginalized. There are currently over 7.1 million active BTC users and Coinbase being home to over 13 million user accounts. The market is still on the rise as Bitcoin hits another impressive bull run.
As political and economic tensions escalate all over the world, affected people are turning to Bitcoin to shield their assets from the resultant inflation. Venezuelans, for instance, have been relying on Bitcoin as a hedge in their imperiled economy.
In contrast to gold, though, Bitcoin is a form of currency. It is not only a medium of exchange, but it is also a store of value and a unit of account. Gold, however, is not regarded as legal tender and too bulky.
Bitcoin is also easily countable since it’s very divisible. Therefore, though Bitcoin’s values are on the rise, any interested investor can purchase Satoshis, the smallest unit of account of Bitcoin, instead. The fractions of BTC can go as far as eight decimal points. Gold, nonetheless, is not as divisible. The current BTC Bull Run has been good for gold. Pundits say that Bitcoin has raised awareness on monetary history, giving gold the “hard money halo”.