Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have flown a little too close to the sun recently, and it has seen them get burned by a few key monetary institutions, as well as governments. This attack on Bitcoin, as well as fear and speculation around other markets, could spell a good time for investment in gold.
Seen as an insurance policy, gold has been a steady and safe investment for hundreds of years. As markets, beyond even the crypto market, get spooked, investors could see a safety net in the precious metal.
Good time for gold
While all the attention over the last few months or so has been solely aimed at digital currencies and their astronomical gains, gold has not been suffering, although many thought it would.
Gold recently hit a new high of $1,350, and part of that was a $100 rise seen over three months for the steady commodity. It seems paltry for those who have been spoiled by swings as big as 25 percent in a day by digital currencies, but in its own right, it is a big jump.
Essentially, that jump, and new high, was reason enough for gold to be no longer considered a bear market - and all this while Bitcoin was making its own massive gains.
Why will gold profit from Bitcoin under fire?
As Bitcoin was rising, so was gold, but when Bitcoin came under fire from China, and JP Morgan recently, gold profited even more.
Gold was always seen as a safe and steady investment; not too much growth, but never really any decline. When sexy cryptocurrencies came along, with their 800 percent gains in less than a year, many put their funds into it.
However, in the bad times, and for those investors who are a little more cautious, gold acts as a good insurance policy, as well as a reliable option to diversify with.
Additionally, it only takes a relatively small number of investors around the world to decide to allocate five to 10 percent of their wealth to gold, to radically improve its valuation.
Real world factors aiding gold’s appeal
It’s not only Bitcoin that has talk of bubbles and uncertainty around it. The stock market has shown many times it has its propensity to pop, and there is a similar bubble feeling at the moment.
The US stock market is already too high, and that has to do with a concentration of speculation into a very limited number of stocks in the NASDAQ. Lesser company stocks have already fallen.
The dollar is also weakening, as it has done since its inception. But, it has its own factors to worry about. None more so than its country’s leader, Donald Trump. Trump, as well as his war of words - so far - for North Korea, is putting a lot of doubt into financial markets, making gold again appear to be the safest and steadiest option.