Bitcoin and Litecoin are often thought of as being the digital counterparts to the precious metals of gold and silver. Remarkable at the time of this writing is how Bitcoin is worth more than 1 Oz of gold, and Litecoin is worth more than 1 Oz of silver.
Gold and Silver
Silver has always been considered to be the companion of gold, the second place as in the literal silver medal, which also explains why it has a much lower value. However, silver is still a precious metal and holds it's value well.
Looking at it from an investors point of view diversifying holdings into both gold and silver has been a good decision over the past few years. The value of silver has been quite volatile. Right now, one Oz of silver is valued at US$16, whereas it hit over US$40 in late 2011.
One of the downsides of precious metals is how they seem to only gain value during times of uncertainty and crisis. However, if you believe that the stock and bond bullrun is grinding to a halt right now, this is essentially what you are looking for.
Bitcoin and Litecoin
Although these assets are fundamentally different from Gold and Silver in that they are digital, there are some interesting similarities. Litecoin is often called the silver to Bitcoin, and is one of the bigger cryptocurrenties. It is always valued at a certain fraction of Bitcoin and tends to move along with it in value, much like Gold and silver.
Bitcoin is valued at US$1,550 right now, whereas Litecoin has surpassed the US$40 mark. So the digital assets are currently valued over their physical counterparts, which is interesting indeed.
In the end, comparing Bitcoin and Litecoin to gold and silver is by no means far fetched. Both move along quite similiarly with the cheaper on of the lot offering more volatility with potentially hight rewards. Think of this when building your digital treasure trove.