Yes, these two asset classes have very similar investment objectives, in fact bitcoin is sometimes referred to as "gold 2.0". One is physical, the other is digital. In both cases the objective is to store value outside the banking system, and to escape the consequences of irresponsible monetary policies that result in the depreciation of euros, dollars, etc.

Gold: a simple investment with very limited risk

The advantage of gold is above all the robustness of its model, which is based on 3000 years of monetary use. It is the ultimate reserve of value, the one that has survived history, crises and wars. Gold allows a lot of value to be stored in a small volume. It also has an excellent resilience to market shocks, it offers one of the lowest volatilities if you compare it to equities and, a fortiori, to crypto-currencies. Risk is very limited with gold. Finally, buying gold is very simple, just go to the counter of a gold dealer like Godot & Fils.

Bitcoin: a high-potential investment for technophiles

Bitcoin is very volatile, its price can vary by more than 50% in a month, so it is clearly a much riskier asset than gold. Its history is very recent, since it was created in 2009. But this recent history shows that the risk is gone once you hold bitcoin for at least 3 years, and the potential gains are unmatched by the markets.

Since its creation, bitcoin has gained an average of 150% per year! Bitcoin has advantages that gold does not: you can send bitcoins to the other side of the world in minutes, 24/7, without a bank intermediary, at virtually no cost. Bitcoin is also a "harder" asset than gold: there will never be more than 21 million bitcoins in circulation, it's in the program, it's deflationary. Whereas gold is increasing its global stockpile by about 3,000 tonnes each year, through mining, out of an existing total of 190,000 tonnes, an inflation of about 1.5% per year. And it is estimated that there is still at least 35,000 tonnes of gold to be extracted from the ground...

Bitcoin is also unseizable, untaxable, provided it is not stored on online exchanges but on so-called "cold" electronic wallets. And it has to be said that for a beginner, buying bitcoin is neither simple nor necessarily reassuring: you have to open an account on an exchanger whose application you have loaded, fund the account, buy and then transfer your bitcoins to ledgers... there is a generational, cultural and technological barrier. Not to mention the rather immature regulatory framework. At least for the time being.

 

Insofar as these two assets have the same purpose but different profiles, as well as a low correlation, it can be very relevant to invest in both for diversification purposes. Everyone will then adjust the proportion according to their risk tolerance...