Bitcoin has been pitted against gold at various turns since the digital asset started going mainstream. Enthusiasts have finally settled on referring to the former as ‘digital gold’ while continuing to push that bitcoin will replace gold as the default store of value in the coming years. However, not all bitcoin supporters seem to share this school of thought despite the asset’s growth.
Billionaire Ray Dalio is a supporter of bitcoin and has been vocal about his support for the digital asset at various times in the past, but it seems that Dalio does not believe that bitcoin will replace gold. In a recent podcast episode with Lex Fridman, the billionaire investor shares some insight into both assets and why he believes bitcoin cannot surpass gold in terms of market cap.
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$1 Million Bitcoin Is Impossible
Talking to Fridman, the billionaire laid out his reasons why bitcoin will be unable to replace gold. He points to the traceability of bitcoin and compared this to gold which he says is untraceable as it is not connected. Furthermore, gold is a universally recognized store of value while only a small percentage of the world is estimated to use bitcoin as an investment and a store of value.
He explains that gold still maintains the lead ahead of bitcoin which he does not yet believe will become the apex or the universally accepted form of money. Gold, for one, has been around for thousands of years and is still an accepted form of money or store of value.
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For the reasons that he outlined, Dalio does not believe that bitcoin will ever be able to surpass gold. Furthermore, he explains that he does not believe that bitcoin will reach the price page of $1 million which some bitcoin maximalists have pushed in recent times.
Still A Strong Contender For Gold
Dalio did not completely dismiss how valuable bitcoin is though. The billionaire lauded bitcoin by proclaiming that the digital asset has proved itself despite not being able to serve as a currency due to its volatility. The digital asset has proven to be a safe way to invest as it has never been hacked and continues to operate according to its original programming.
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“It has proven itself. It has not been hacked, it has operated in an amazing way over that 11 years to be probably the most exciting topic among a lot of people,” said Dalio. ”It has been used and is now obtained the status of having imputed value.”
The billionaire also revealed that bitcoin ranked highly on his list of assets that he considers to be strong competitors for gold. He still maintains that gold is still his favorite investment but has not written off bitcoin from the running either. A few months ago, Dalio had revealed that he held a small portion of holdings in bitcoin, and had added ethereum to his stash too.
Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com
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