There is a whole new generation of young people who were born into a post dotcom world. They do not understand or want to understand the real value that gold plays in the world. For them bitcoin is their gold. Is this wrong to think this way? Absolutely yes. There is no replacement for gold and likewise any physical asset. Gold exists regardless of governments or the internet. No one must allow gold to exist unlike bitcoin. Gold is in your hand and is not controlled by circle of developers who play God with bitcoin's future. They do this by creating forks, planning updates, and doing whatever they feel like is best. After all they are more knowledgeable about the blockchain then you and me. When you have a gold coin in your pocket however it is tangible. It is yours and you have no third-party dependencies on a consensus network. It can't be hacked, and it is not dependent on the internet existing. In a real crisis government will turn to gold.
An interesting point is we don't know who invented bitcoin. We don't know their motives and we know they are holding a huge number of bitcoins. If bitcoin was to become a global currency or even widely adopted, we have an issue. What if Satoshi (or whoever it is) came out and cashed his bitcoin? He would become the richest man in the world. Who are we endowing with such wealth? What if he turned out to be part of a rogue regime, a murderer or professional money launderer? Do we accept this person’s legitimacy to becoming the richest person in the world? Thus, having a huge economic power?
For a generation of bitcoin fans there is no convincing them of going back to gold. There is simply no way they want to give up the convenience, potential gains and volatility that bitcoin provides. Hence the rapid earning potential. As a bitcoin realist I need to hedge myself against uncertainty. Seriously look at the way bitcoin is reacting to news. We talk about gold and silver manipulation, but bitcoin manipulation is of a different magnitude. Bitcoin trading is unregulated, opaque, and so manipulated it is speculative for anyone being involved.
However, with all that said I am still a major fan and will always hodl. It is not even a question of me loosing interest in bitcoin. I am in bitcoin for the long term. However, please let us not get carried away as I have read in other blogs with thinking bitcoin is going to change the world. Those of us who have lived long enough or studied history will have seen it all before. Innovation that is set to cause a revolution but never delivers.
Follow me @cryptobebe