A Single Asteroid Destroys the Gold Versus Bitcoin Debate

There has been a long-standing debate about whether digital gold (Bitcoin) is more valuable than physical gold (AU). Many mainstream investors cannot seem to wrap their heads around the fact that something intangible, like virtual currency, could be worth more than something that is both malleable and rare.

Unfortunately, there are two misconceptions with this line of thinking:

1. While gold’s malleable nature makes it usable, Bitcoin has several use cases, too.
2. Gold is not as rare as we are made to think. In fact, Bitcoin will eventually run out, making it far rarer in the long run.

The second point will most likely rub punters of gold up the wrong way, as it has been estimated in industry reports that gold, as a mineral, will become mined out by 2050. On the contrary, these ‘facts’ seem way off as more and more proof is surfacing to contradict these politically motivated predictions.

 Is Gold Really Rare?

Official reports show that there is an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 tons of new gold mined annually. These are the figures that are accounted for and released into the economy each year. Of course, there are massive reserves of gold on the planet too.

Data from 2008 shows that central banks across the globe are hoarding gold bullion. If it were all released to the market at once, the price of gold would drop significantly, and many economies would sink with it.

The global mining statistics may be incorrect according to official United Nations reports. The UN found that gold production was grossly under-reported in areas like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is considered one of the world’s foremost gold mining countries. It has been found that there are many artisan (independent) miners that sift the soil for gold and then introduce it to the market without reporting it.

Just recently, a mountain of the mineral was found in Congo’s South Kivu province, causing a massive gold rush in the area. Yemeni journalist, Ahmad Algohbary, tweeted:

“A video from the Republic of the Congo documents the biggest surprise for some villagers in this country, as an entire mountain filled with gold was discovered. They dig the soil inside the gold deposits and take them to their homes in order to wash the dirt [and] extract the gold.”

But it is not only the Congo that is sitting on unexpected gold reserves, as 5,000 tons of gold was recently discovered in Silesia, Poland. This is another sure sign that the earth remains rich in AU.

Unfortunately, politics has a big part to play in this entire situation. If miners reported every ounce of gold discovered, stats would show that it is not as rare as we think it is and may result in a massive drop in the price of the commodity.

 Outer Space is Rich in Gold Resource

To hit the ‘’final nail in the coffin’’ of the gold vs Bitcoin debate, we have some extraterrestrial intervention. NASA has discovered a 226 km wide asteroid which they have dubbed "16 Psyche".

This giant space ball is apparently made of gold and other precious metals. The estimated value of the rock at today’s price is around $10 quadrillion.

 How Scarce is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin, on the other hand, is provably scarce thanks to the blockchain which automatically ledgers and reports every tiny Satoshi mined. There is no reason to base its scarcity reports on faith and estimates.

The currency has been hard-capped at 21 million coins, which means there is a point in time where the ‘’digital gold’’ won’t be available any longer, and the digital asset will become a very rare commodity – much rarer than gold.

It is for this very reason that Bitcoin now trades at over $50,000 per coin and is climbing.

 Decentralisation is Key to Determining True Value

As soon as a central server or brokerage for an asset is established, we leave room for market manipulation. Politics has a big part to play in the mainstream economy, hiding many of the hard facts from the public.

In decentralised economies, like that provided by true cryptocurrencies, there is no central server or brokerage option. The stats on the blockchain always represent the truth and are unchangeable. Its principles like this that the world needs for the sake of transparency.