Will Bitcoin really replace gold? The market landscape is changing.

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), Gold/AI generated image ©

An analysis suggests that Bitcoin (BTC) is moving from being a mere 'digital gold' to an asset that replaces gold, shaking the safe-haven asset paradigm itself.

According to Watcher.Guru, a cryptocurrency specialized media outlet, on April 18 (local time), amidst recent escalating geopolitical tensions, Bitcoin demonstrated a strong presence as a safe-haven asset, while gold, contrary to expectations, showed a weak trend, exhibiting contrasting movements. In particular, during the US-Iran conflict, a trend was observed where some investors moved funds to Bitcoin instead of gold.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, estimated Bitcoin's total potential market size to exceed $34 trillion. During the same period, Bitcoin rose by approximately 12%, surpassing gold's 10% increase, indicating its superiority in the safe-haven asset competition, according to the analysis.

Hougan pointed to three factors behind Bitcoin's rise: concerns about the erosion of fiat currency value due to increasing global debt and expanding fiscal deficits, a regulatory environment that has shifted from anti-crypto to pro-crypto, and expanded institutional investment access methods such as spot ETFs. He explained that the combination of these three elements makes it highly likely that institutional capital inflow will begin in earnest.

He believes that Bitcoin will erode the 'store of value' market dominated by gold. Furthermore, he assessed that its scope of use could expand to include means of storing overseas assets, alternatives to real estate and foreign exchange-based assets, and a store of value for emerging market assets.

Based on these premises, Hougan predicted that if Bitcoin accounts for approximately 25% of the store of value market by 2035, its price could reach around $1.3 million. He added that even this forecast might be conservative, and in the long term, there is a possibility that it could surpass gold.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*