Investing: Is bitcoin the new gold?

Bitcoin has taken the investing world by storm. Proponents argue it is a better store of value than U.S. dollars or even safe-haven commodities such as gold.

Those who follow bitcoin will notice the parallels with the yellow metal. You can mine bitcoin just like you can mine gold, and though governments can issue as much currency as they choose, there’s only a fixed amount of bitcoin that will ever exist, just as there’s only so much gold on the planet. People have even gone so far as to talk about the “gold rush” toward bitcoin, and most of the symbolic physical representations of cryptocurrency tokens have them cast in shiny gold-colored coins.

Investors have certainly gravitated to bitcoin over gold in recent months. Yet in some respects, bitcoin can never replace gold. For those who like the feel of a physical asset, the electronic blockchain is no more reassuring than having assets at a bank or brokerage account. Gold has intrinsic value in its application as a material in electronics, jewelry, dentistry and other industries.

Some question bitcoin’s inherent value. It’s cheaper to keep gold safe. Even institutional investors who can usually get rock-bottom rates have to pay more than 1% to protect bitcoin, while gold investors can find protection for fees of less than 0.1%.

As long as bitcoin prices rise, many will see it as having taken gold’s place. Yet for diehard gold investors, cryptocurrencies will never give the same satisfaction that hefting a coin can bring.