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Today’s modern investors are faced with a new choice that wasn’t available in years gone by. For nearly the entirety of human history, gold has been seen as a valuable and scarce commodity. Now, it has a rival - crypto.
Today’s modern investors are faced with a new choice that wasn’t available in years gone by. For nearly the entirety of human history, gold has been seen as a valuable and scarce commodity. Now, it has a rival - crypto. However, there have been concerns about the safety of investing in cryptocurrency. Is gold safer? Here’s a comparison of the two types of investment.
Let’s start with the obvious. One type of investment is a physical thing while the other is merely digital. Digital currency and gold are both physical in a sense. Electrons are certainly a part of the physical world. However, they’re a part that we can’t interact with personally. They’re also easy to manipulate. Crypto is digital currency that can be made artificially scarce or plentiful. Gold, on the other hand, is a physical object that you can see and touch. No one can artificially create a shortage or an abundance. There’s a finite amount of gold on this earth, and that’s something no one can increase. This means that gold is tangible in a way the digital currency never can be.
The crypto and gold markets are dramatically different. Crypto is one of the most volatile types of investment. The crypto market can skyrocket or tank in a flash. That quality appeals to high-risk investors who hope to multiply their fortunes quickly. However, don’t forget that crypto can bottom out quickly, too.
Gold, though, tends to be a more stable investment. It typically rises in value, more slowly than crypto but also more steadily. You will never check on the gold market and find that the gold you hold is now worth a fraction of yesterday’s value. Since gold is less volatile, it’s a safer investment.
As far as historians know, gold was discovered by Ancient Egyptians around 2450 B.C. The legendary King Midas left behind the first known gold artifact, around the 8th century B.C. The fact is that gold has been on earth longer than people have. What’s more, gold has been valuable since it was first mined, around 650 B.C. It was used for international exchange from the start, partly because everyone agreed on its value.
Crypto has a quite different story. The first experiments with digital currency started in the 1980s. Bitcoin itself wasn’t introduced until 2008. Crypto’s history has been not only short but filled with both extreme highs and extreme lows. It’s a short history, too, so it’s hard to tell how long the interest in cryptocurrency will last. Perhaps something new will come along that will make crypto as we know it obsolete. While gold continues to hold value year after year over millennia, no one can be sure that crypto will do the same.
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What about the potential for fraud? Which investment puts you in a position where you’re more likely to be taken advantage of by scam artists? Although there is fraud in virtually every industry, some investments make fraud easier and harder to detect.
Let’s start with cryptocurrency. Crypto is ripe for exploitation. It is based on digital input, which can be done by anyone with the authorization to do it. Does the name Sam Bankman-Fried ring a bell? In 2023, this FTX founder was convicted on charges that he stole from crypto investors. He bankrupted his own cryptocurrency exchange in the process. That led to massive losses for the people who invested with him.
Now, has there ever been fraud related to gold? Yes, of course there has, but typically it happens when someone takes one fraudster’s word that the gold they are offering is real when it is not. The difference here is that this is something you can check on. You can ask an expert to verify that the gold is real. Gold coins and bars not only have special markings and certificates of authenticity signed by reputable assessors. They can also be tested with physical tests. You can be taken advantage of if you let down your guard, but you always have ways to know if the gold is real or not. And if it’s real, you know it’s valuable.
If the idea of buying gold makes sense, the best way to protect yourself and ensure your money is going into a sound, stable investment is to speak with a gold expert. At True Gold Republic, we are happy to provide insights into the benefits of gold and explain the multiple ways to approach investing in it. We specialize in gold IRAs and prioritize customer education. Contact us today to find out more about gold products and investments!
