Bitcoin is often referred to as Digital Gold.
In the early days of Bitcoin, it seemed appropriate to explain Bitcoin in this way, so that as many people as possible could understand an approximation of what Bitcoin is.
This was a necessity, as Bitcoin was unlike anything we had ever seen before.
Gold has been the benchmark reserve asset for centuries. It's a commodity recognized by the general public. Comparing Bitcoin to gold was therefore relevant.
The problem is that the relevance of this comparison seems less and less obvious to me. I think it's more than a little simplistic to compare Bitcoin to gold.
Of course, I understand why some people do this: they aim to show that Bitcoin will offer you a better return on investment in the years to come.
But by doing this, some Bitcoiners are devaluing Bitcoin, when their intention is different in the first place.
Their primary aim is to convince more people to come and discover Bitcoin by luring them with the lure of profit. Yet the price of Bitcoin is far from being the most exciting thing about Bitcoin.
It matters for 4 essential reasons, as I told you earlier this year: "Bitcoin Price Is Not the Most Exciting Thing About Bitcoin, but Bitcoin Price Does Matter
Nevertheless, after more than 14 years of incredible success, Bitcoin has moved beyond this stage where it needs to be constantly compared to gold to say that “Bitcoin is better.”
Bitcoin is better suited to tomorrow's digital world. Period.
But Bitcoin is much more than Digital Gold. Bitcoin's potential far exceeds that of gold for the future. Gold will probably remain an important reserve asset for older generations in the future. There's no need to criticize gold because gold has its qualities (even if gold has many flaws too).
new generations will naturally opt for Bitcoin in the future, resulting in an incredible transfer of wealth to Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, everyone has to make their own choices. That's why I never criticize those who opt for gold instead of Bitcoin. After all, who am I to criticize that choice?
If someone thinks that gold is better suited to their needs as a hedge against the flaws of the current system, that's their right.
Bitcoiners who criticize gold bugs forget that by doing so, they become just like the people they criticize. Bitcoin teaches you that you have to check everything for yourself, to decide for yourself. Bitcoin gives you back the power.
But that doesn't mean you have to opt for Bitcoin, just because Bitcoiners are defending Bitcoin's many qualities in a future world where everything will become digital.
You have to do what you think is best for you and your family. That way, you'll never have any regrets afterwards, because you'll be in control of all your choices.
That's what I've been trying to get across in my articles for several years now. You have the power. I defend Bitcoin, but at the end of the day, you have to decide for yourself. Not because I'm telling you that Bitcoin is superior, but because you will have come to the same conclusion as I did.
If not, that's okay. At least you'll have made your choice. It will be the best because it will be yours.
Whether Bitcoin offers a better return on investment than gold in the future won't change a thing. Better to have a worse return on investment and feel comfortable with your life choices. That's the bottom line.
So there's no point in trying to bait people with predictions like: “Bitcoin will outperform gold in the future.”
That's my belief too, but that's not how I want to help other people come to Bitcoin
Rather, my goal is to make you understand that Bitcoin offers you things that gold never could. Things that are more important than money. The most important thing Bitcoin offers you is power. The power to live your life on your terms.
Not so with gold, which remains at the mercy of governments and central bankers.
You know as well as I do that the gold of American citizens was confiscated by Roosevelt in 1933. It happened once, and it could well happen again. In America or elsewhere. Storing all your wealth in gold also exposes you to the risk of censorship.
You have no absolute power when you own gold. It's as simple as that.
With Bitcoin, it's different. Once you own the private keys to your Bitcoin, you have absolute power, because no one can censor you or confiscate your Bitcoin.
You are the master of your wealth, and ultimately the master of your life.
Better still, a circular economy based on the Bitcoin system is developing all over the world. The aim here is to enable you to live directly within the Bitcoin system. This is not without its worries in some Western countries, which require every Bitcoin transaction to be considered a “tax event”. But it's happening everywhere else in the world, where Bitcoin is already a plan A, a necessity in the daily lives of millions of people.
Gold is not suitable for this type of use. Gold will enable you to store your wealth, maybe protecting you from a collapse of the current monetary and financial system, but remaining at the mercy of the system's powerful players. And if this system were to collapse, you can be sure that the temptation would be great for the powerful people to confiscate your gold in an attempt to gain more leverage over other countries.
Why would they do this? Quite simply because a new monetary and financial system would have to be defined, and those with the most gold would be at an advantage.
Opting for gold exposes you to these risks.
As you can see, I'm not talking about a return on investment here, but about retaining control over your wealth in the future. That's all Bitcoin allows you to do, unlike gold, which can't compete in the same category.
Bitcoin therefore has far greater potential, and the next step is to focus the debate on the power Bitcoin gives you back, and the positive impact it will have on your life now and in the future.
Once you choose this path, you'll understand, as I do, that Bitcoin is not in competition with gold. There's no point in reducing the scope of the Bitcoin revolution to simple Digital Gold.
However, this should not prevent us from comparing Bitcoin's past returns on investment with other assets, including gold, from time to time. This plays an important role in showing why Bitcoin is superior in financial terms too, but we should no longer make future predictions that only show Bitcoin through the prism of financial speculation.
Bitcoin is an incredible monetary revolution that gives power back to the people, and on which we can build an alternative system independent of the yoke of governments and central bankers.
This is the essential message we need to convey after 14 years of incredible success in the Bitcoin revolution. It ties in with my latest article entitled: “Spend and Replace your Bitcoin is the new Bitcoin HODLing
Bitcoin On-Chain: The Shrimps Take Revenge on the Whales in 2023.
Bitcoin supply is better distributed among the various entities participating in the market, which is excellent news for Bitcoin.
https://inbitcoinwetrust.substack.com/p/bitcoin-on-chain-the-shrimps-take
Don't take for granted the word of Bitcoiners who tell you that Bitcoin is an incredible monetary revolution, but verify it for yourself by developing the knowledge to build your truth about Bitcoin.
That's what I suggest you do in the book “The Truth About Bitcoin: Everything you need to build your truth about Bitcoin and stop trusting others without verifying
The book is available on various platforms:
On Amazon in print format: 630 pages
On Amazon in Kindle format: 543 pages
On Gumroad in PDF format: 475 pages
In P2P mode in PDF format or EPUB format with payment in BTC (-20% if you buy in Bitcoin): contact me by email at [email protected]
