Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has criticized gold as a decentralized alternative to money, calling it “incredibly inconvenient” and “difficult to use, especially when dealing with untrusted parties.”
He too pointed out how gold does not “support safe storage options like multisig” and also claimed that “gold has less adoption than crypto, so crypto is the best option.”
Buterin’s statements came in response to American cartoonist Zach Weinersmith, who so that the only argument he’s heard about crypto “that makes sense within the believer’s own framework is that they don’t want a centralized authority for money.”
He added: “In that framework, why not just go with gold?”
This is not a new point of view from Vitalik, who has supported crypto in the same debate since 2014.
“Bitcoin itself may well serve as a unique Schelling point for a universal reserve asset, similar to the current and historical function of gold,” the founder said in a blog post.
Uniswap founder Hayden Adam joined the discussion, highlight a theory that precious metals extracted from an asteroid in the future could potentially cause the value of precious metals to decrease.
The comments come at a time when questions about the merits of gold versus crypto as a store of value may become increasingly relevant.
Gold and crypto
A recent report from Bank of America Securities (BofAS) showed that Bitcoin now has a higher correlation with gold prices, suggesting that some parties may use it as a hedge against uncertainty or as a “safe haven” asset.
Gold has historically been used by investors, both institutional and private, as an attempt to preserve a portfolio’s performance during economic downturns.
Lately, the precious yellow metal has certainly been less volatile than Bitcoin.
During 2022, gold per ounce value has fluctuated between a high of $2,043.30 and a low of $1,626.65, with an average closing price of $1,811.11
However, Bitcoin has fluctuated from $67,617 to 19,268 during 2022 according to data from CoinGecko.
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