Disclaimer: The article written is based on my own perception of how things are going and should be not be misinterpreted as advise as I am not qualified to do so.
If you are a fan of steemit and crypto’s as I am then you will no doubt be familiar with some of these points. This blog is written not to play one of against the other but, merely just food for thought.
In the article when I refer to Gold you could also apply some of these points to other precious metals such as Silver, platinum and palladium. In my opinion the economy is far from certain and there has never been better time to think about how to protect your assets.
GOLD
• Gold has been used as money for thousands of Years and is instantly recognised by the public as a store of value.
• Gold is fungible. You could place it in your pocket and in the event of economic disaster could be used to purchase goods.
• Gold can be manipulated physically by mixing it with other less valuable metals. It is advisable when purchasing gold to buy from reputable dealers.
• Gold can and has been manipulated through short selling on commodity exchanges either by governments or central banks. Usually to protect fiat currencies.
• Gold is in limited supply and it is thought to have come to Earth from neutron star explosions.
• Due to its high value, it is susceptible to thieves; obviously if you keep physical gold then you would need to consider very carefully how you are going to keep it safe.
• Gold price can be volatile at times and choosing when to buy can greatly improve your holdings.
• Gold price has doubled in price in the last 10 Years and represents a good long term investment.
• If want to invest in gold it is recommended that you purchase physical gold. CFD’s (contract for difference) and other products are not meant for ownership.
• Much of the gold held by governments may have been rehypothecated. In other word’s there may be multiple claimants for the same piece of gold. This is especially true with the US gold holdings
Cryptocurrencies
• The main advantage of cryptocurrencies is that is Decentralized and in theory cannot be manipulated through Central Banks.
• Cryptocurrencies are limited in supply and as mentioned above cannot be printed out of thin air.
• Some Crypto’s such as bitcoin has a tainted image as it could be used on the dark web; the criminal element of the deep web.
• The fact that a lot of people still have not heard of cryptocurrencies may prove to be its Achilles heel.
• Unlike gold, Crypto's are highly divisible and can be used to make microtransactions.
• The very strong performance of some crypto’s is now starting to attract the interest of big investors.
• The price of Crypto’s is extremely volatile.
• In theory, very high volumes of Crypto’s can be held in very small electronic devices and can be at your disposal instantly and is more practical in comparison to gold and fiat currency.
In the event of a major economic crisis it is worth careful consideration as to how to protect your assets. Global debt has never been higher and ignoring what’s going on could be putting your livelihood at risk. In short both could be used to some extent to help protect you.
If I missed any points please let me know. I consider this as self-learning from other steemians. If you liked this blog please upvote.