If gold wasn't used as a store of value its value would be very maybe a hundredth of what it is now: Gold-plated jewelry in our modern era is essentially indistinguishable (even at the level of a physics lab using scales/xrays/etc if need be) from solid gold jewelry.
Gold, for all intents and purposes, is also "backed by nothing".
Aluminum was more expensive than gold until a cheap way to purify it was developed. Now we wrap our food in it. Gold is only valuable until the first metallic asteroid is placed into high Earth orbit. Not tomorrow, but probably sooner than you think.
reply << Has nothing to do with Bitcoin being back by nothing. Even if gold did lessen in value other forms of metals/currency can take golds place. Gold is specifically a variable for anything however it is "some thing". (the root point).
If gold wasn't used as a store of value its value would be very maybe a hundredth of what it is now: Gold-plated jewelry in our modern era is essentially indistinguishable (even at the level of a physics lab using scales/xrays/etc if need be) from solid gold jewelry.
Gold, for all intents and purposes, is also "backed by nothing". << again has almost nothing to do with Bitcoin being back by nothing. Gold is the item of value it doesn't need to be backed, it is the back'er.
I suggest you return to your economic and history books. Gold has no intrinsic value as you would probably call it. It is only because of some VERY distinctive properties that are not found in other metals that gold was ultimately selected as the better store of value available. Its only value comes from a market agreement.
Bitcoin is essentially the same as it replicates the same properties of gold while having a more predictable supply and features that allow it to be used more commonly as a currency, unlike gold.
Gold has intrinsic value because 1: Its rare 2: Its tangible 3: People want it. Look at history and you will see gold wrapped around everyone's neck and fingers. As mentioned before, a currency has to be back by something. Bitcoin is backed by nothing - nothing cannot be something - no matter how much you exclaim - that is the risk of investing any time with Bitcoin. Just because you like the utility of of bitcoin almost has nothing to do with it being a currency. Example - You can have 50 coins of solid gold or 50 zeros on a computer.
Also, unlike Bitcoin, gold remains gold without the need for a constant supply of electricity or technology. It's an element, and part of the reason it worked as a store of value was because "ooh shiny" and zero upkeep.
Exactly. My point was that "the things people want" is true wealth, gold is just another measuring stick for converting billable hours of work into diapers (or whatever). If Bitcoin is perceived as a superior measuring stick it will be preferred.
Gold, for all intents and purposes, is also "backed by nothing".