Gold is money.
"Because it has been money for the last 5000 years."
That is what the gold bugs state.
But, is it really the case anymore?
That is what the gold bugs state.
But, is it really the case anymore?
The Seven (Old) Aspects of Money
| Gold | Fiat Paper | Crypto | |
| Durable |  Very |
 Up in smoke anyone? |
|
| Divisible |  Sorta |
We still got pennies |
|
| Convenient | Its heavy, but could be worse |
Easy folding |
|
| Fungible | As long as its not fake |
As long as its not counterfeit |
|
| Rare | Not really |
can we say hyperinflation? |
|
| Posseses value in and of itself | Its a pretty yellow rock |
Its a piece of paper |
Its the only one of its kind in existence. |
| Long history of use | But its fallen off in the last century |
Yes, but it has been going to zero for a couple of centuries now |
Only a decade. |
The Future Aspects of Money
| Gold | Fiat Paper | Crypto | |
| Can be transferred anonymously? | Yes |
Yes, as long as you use cash |
|
| Can be transferred with full disclosure? | No |
Maybe |
|
| Can be checked for known quantity? | Has anyone been in Ft. Knox lately? |
Nobody has a clue |
|
| Transactions are verified? | Nope |
Nope |
|
| Works when the power is out? | Not in this country |
yes |
Maybe |
| Can be sent around the world? | Nope |
Sure, but it'll cost ya |
|
| Doesn't need a bank or an assayer? | Nope |
Nope |
|
| Can be put into escrow without a third party? | What? |
Nah uh |
|
| Smart contracts? | Nope |
What's that? |
|
| Exchange for other currencies Atomic swaps |
Its gold, its accepted most places |
Find a money changer, or ask your bank to do it for a "small" fee |
It will become seemless. |
| Energy friendly? | Grind up a ton of rock to get an ounce. |
One of the largest expenditures of energy on the planet, outside of war |
Getting better with POS |
| Can go to the moon? | Why would you waste the fuel? |
Its only paper, but it still has mass |
Both literally and figuratively |
There are a lot of people in the precious metals camp who have, because nothing else was close to as good, have come to believe that gold is the only thing that is money. However, now that cryptos are in existence, gold becomes a pretty rock. It no longer has what it takes to be money. And, the major innovations in cryptos in the coming years will nail this point home.
Gold is hard to use even in countries that love the stuff. You have to find an assayer to certify it and a buyer for it. (Yes, these people are doing a quite the business in Zimbabwe) Fiat paper is getting harder to use. Want to pay your utilities? Well, there usually is a building in town that takes cash payments. Want to pay your internet provider? Now this gets difficult. You have to convert your fiat paper to bank money and use a gateway like a credit card.
When the business wallets get built, accepting cryptos will be the easiest thing that businesses ever did. They can go without the great big (and expensive) safe. They can go without the merchant processors and their fees. They can handle refunds straight to the customer. They can't be defrauded by credit card scams. Although, a whole other level of security needs to be invented for the private keys.
Soon, gold and fiat paper will not be money. Not because they have failed in what they did, but because their usability will be so minuscule in comparison to what cryptos will become.
You won't find any disagreement from me on the comparative table. Crypto money as money is way superior.
However...
Money is handled by human beings, and human beings are really not the most logical lot.
Tell a prisoner that has been a jail for 50 years that he is free... He will prefer to stay in his jail for mental comfort.
Give the choice to an old lady between a fantastic washing machine or her old 37 years old piece of junk that yet, still does the job... what do you think the old lady will choose.
This human factor should be taken account...
Today, I believe in Crypto on the long term, not as a speculative tool, but as something that could make humanity evolve. Still, this orange light always stays lit.
You are correct in the "rut theory" of human behavior.
And this is why they talk about generations when talking about societal change.
Many kids do not know what an LP is.
Their kids will probably not know what folding money is.
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Post has earned exactly $11.11 -- prophetic perhaps?
Yes, this is very prophetic. I do agree... I wrote it looking into the future ^_^
Given that credit cards take around 3% from every transaction I'd agree that crypto has a very bright future. I would buy stuff in CostcoCoin 😉.
I would love to see one alt coin, tied to gold, so if you needed to you could exchange it directly for gold, that would take away a lot of the mainstream anxiety about it just being keys or blockchain, it may happen one day who knows.
I believe it is called bitgold. And they are working on it. The gold isn't the problem. The crypto isn't the problem. Its the interface between the two.
And, you can go right now on Bitshares and trade in gold there.
I did not know that, I have some gold in bullion vault, I think it is called, that is my pension fund though, they allow investment in gold though not silver, UK government rules.
The gold market will coexist and people should continue to use it around the world. Crypto will not change this equation.
Most likely. But, like we have very few horse and buggies, it will play a smaller role.
We are now living in a digital world and its only the beginning
I will look back on this post in a handful of years and think, why didn't I put this, and this, and this on the list? Each of them being things that made cryptos 10x more usable/valuable.
Good post, I agree with most of your points, and as scaredy cat pointed out, we live in a digital society, so yes a digital currency makes the most sense.
Having said that, I don't hold precious metals to use as a currency, I hold precious metals as a store of VALUE.
If you had to put your entire life savings/ retirement into GOLD or (insert favorite crypto), which do you think would be worth anything in 40 years?
Nice article, I'm inclined to agree with you. Also, nice graphic at the top of the post! With they cheeky Bitcoin.
Thanks, it took me forever to think of a picture to represent this post.
good post
Please follow me @asifgoraya123
I am a crypto trader analyst and researcher.
get latest news about bitcoin altcoins realtime,
I am a noob steemian please help me to build some good audience to present my content i hope you will enjoy it.
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No. I dislike being spammed. Sure you made a nice ask for follow. But you pasted it twice to my post.
Nice comparison @builderofcastles. In last 5 years gold and Fiat has failed to add value. There was deflation world over.
New technologies are ready to take over the way transact and exchange values. Blockchain will transform many industries. Its still in infancy stage..