Forget Bitcoin: 6 Reasons Gold Is the Better Investment

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In August 2024, the price of gold surpassed $2,500 per ounce for the first time ever. It comes on the heels of another price ceiling breakthrough, when gold crossed $2,400 per ounce in April.

Granted, cryptocurrencies have had a great year, too. As of Aug. 20, Bitcoin is up 133% over the last 12 months, per Forbes.

Which is the better investment? 

Consider these reasons to stick with the yellow metal over speculating on crypto.

1. Millennia-Long History

Humans have been using gold as a store of value since we started using money to replace bartering.

It crosses cultures and continents. The Incans valued gold as precious long before the Spanish showed up looking for it. The same goes for virtually every civilization in world history. 

Bitcoin has barely been around for 15 years, created in 2009. Which is precisely why investors flock to gold when the world turns upside down.

2. Hedge Against Geopolitical Risk

When investors get spooked by geopolitical events, they move money out of stocks and into gold. It’s held as an assumed truth among investors, and backed up by reputable studies as well, as ScienceDirect detailed.

When Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2022, gold prices leapt to their highest levels since 2020 (the previous peak in global fears), according to CNBC. 

Gold remains the ultimate safe haven asset.

3. Minimal Theft Risk (When Stored Professionally)

Despite the Hollywood heist scene trope, thieves generally do not just drill into gold storage vaults and make off with millions. 

When you store your metal in a gold storage facility, your deposits are typically insured.

4. Hedge Against Recession Risk

In the Great Recession, the S&P 500 fell nearly 50% in six months, according to The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The price of gold rose.

In fact, gold not only held its value and rose in 2008 — as the Bureau of Labor Statistics detailed — it shot up by 12.8% in 2009 and 27.4% in 2010. 

You can see why investors see gold as a safe haven.

5. New Platforms Offer Income Yield on Gold

One of the classic criticisms of gold as an investment involves its lack of revenue. It doesn’t pay interest, or dividends, or rents — or income of any kind.

That has started to change. In recent years, platforms such as Monetary Metals have started allowing gold owners to lend their gold to businesses in industries that need it. Owners get paid interest — in gold. 

That changes the entire conversation around gold, from price speculation alone to its ability to generate real revenue.

6. Greater Utility

As touched on above, gold has uses in the real world. It doesn’t just sit there in a vault and look pretty. 

To begin with, people use it as actual currency. Governments mint coins with it.

But businesses also use it in dentistry, in electronics, in jewelry and other luxury items — as well as in industrial applications. In other words, it has intrinsic value outside of a safe haven investment.

Critics argue that cryptocurrencies have little intrinsic utility outside of digital transfers and speculative investments. 

Final Thoughts

In a decade from now, meme coins and even Bitcoin may or may not still have any value. 

Do you know what will certainly still have value? Gold.

That doesn’t necessarily mean gold will beat more traditional investments like stocks or private equity real estate. But gold has always served as a hedge against risk and uncertainty, and you can count on it continuing to do so.