Not too long ago, the price per Bitcoin surpassed the price of one ounce of gold. At that time, it was considered to be a major victory for the world’s leading cryptocurrency. From that moment, however, the value of Bitcoin has continued to soar, whereas bullion remains pretty flat. Things have advanced in such a manner that online searches for “Buy Bitcoin” now trump those for “Buy Gold”. It’s an interesting paradigm shift, to say the very least.
Bitcoin Trumps Gold in Many Different Ways
It is evident the battle lines between gold and Bitcoin have changed quite a bit over the past two years. With the Bitcoin value surpassing that of one ounce of gold a while ago, it quickly became evident that bullion is losing its appeal. Today, one bitcoin is worth around 5 ounces of gold, as the bullion price hasn’t changed all that much recently. Investors and speculators have taken notice of this trend, but they are not the only ones showing an increased interest in Bitcoin.
Despite a lackluster Bitcoin rally over the past few days, the price has remained above US$7,000 with relative ease. Gold, on the other hand, saw its bullish trend falter over the past two months. A strengthening US dollar and increased competition from other types of investments have been putting a damper on the gold market. As a result, the number of online searches for “Buy Gold” is a lot lower than what it used to be. Moreover, searches for “Buy Bitcoin” are quickly overtaking gold in this category as well.
While Google Trends is not always the most accurate popularity metric whatsoever, it is something worth paying attention to. The term “Buy Bitcoin” is vastly more popular than “Buy Silver” or “Buy Gold” right now. That in itself is not surprising by any means, as precious metals are far less appealing to the general public these days. Indeed, there is no real demand for either gold or silver other than as a store of value. Even in this regard, both markets are faltering as we speak.
Moreover, it is only normal that the current Bitcoin price trend would attract a lot of attention. This past year has been especially bullish for Bitcoin, and no one knows where the top is for the Bitcoin price right now. Reaching US$8,000 before the year is over seems very likely, although maintaining that momentum will be pretty difficult. A major correction is still very likely as far as the Bitcoin price is concerned, however. Especially with SegWit2x on the horizon, there may be some nasty surprises coming our way sooner rather than later.
The year 2017 was not all bad for gold either, though. The precious metal hit a one-year high on September 8. Ever since that time, however, the price has dropped by 6%. As it is difficult for any particular investment vehicle to remain stable, such a dip is only to be expected. The Bitcoin price is far from stable these days either, but it seems gold is just struggling a lot more in this regard. The chart is pretty volatile for bullion as well, and gold’s gains throughout 2017 only represent a fraction of the success Bitcoin has seen this year.
It will be interesting to see how things play out in this regard over the next few years. Bitcoin is getting all the headlines right now, whereas fewer people talk about gold on a weekly basis. An intriguing paradigm shift is taking place as we speak. No one knows for sure how things will play out in this regard, though, as there will be some form of a Bitcoin price correction before this year is over. A lot of money remains to be made in both markets, though; that much is evident.
