The Universal Protocol Alliance — a consortium of crypto firms comprising Bittrex Global, Ledger, CertiK, and Uphold — has launched a token backed by the Western Australian government-owned Perth Mint. The tokens, dubbed ‘Universal Gold’ or UPXAU, can be purchased on Uphold and spent using the firm’s debit card. Investors can purchase UPXAU from $1 with no investment limits. Unlike mainstream gold products which often have 0.4% monthly custody fees, the token is free to hold. In a July 30 announcement, JP Thieriot, Uphold’s chief executive, said the token had “three killer features”: “Spendability, zero holding costs, and government guarantee.” …

As Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to its 2020 high of $11,392 this week, its correlation with gold increased and at the moment, BTC’s monthly correlation with gold on daily returns sits at 0.66, according to data from CryptoCompare. The correlation started to increase as gold broke through $1,900, nearing a new high before pulling back alongside Bitcoin. The increase in correlation represents a trend shift as the relationship between the two had previously been falling according to data from Kraken exchange's research team. BTC monthly correlation on daily returns. Source: CryptoCompare While the correlation between gold and Bitcoin has surged, Ether’s …

Ampleforth (AMPL) is a cryptocurrency built with an elastic supply that expands and contracts depending on demand. According to its co-founder Evan Kuo, the team was trying to learn from the failures of the gold standard and Bitcoin (BTC) to create a more flexible monetary system. Investors hoard Bitcoin & gold Although many in the crypto space perceive the finite inelastic supply of Bitcoin and gold as a major advantage over fiat, Kuo disagrees: “The only problem with gold arises when you start to use it as a base money or building block as part of a financial infrastructure.” Since …

Since Black Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) has become a better hedge against the U.S. dollar than gold. At the same time, its correlation with the S&P 500 Index reached unprecedented highs. Correlations chart. Source: Coinmetrics. Diverging paths after Black Thursday Since the disintegration of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, investors have looked to gold as a hedge against fiat. Gold has consistently exhibited a negative correlation with the dollar with some very rare exceptions, while Bitcoin and the dollar have been uncorrelated with each other until recently. U.S. Dollar Index (DXY). Source: Trading Economics. However, starting from the Black Thursday …

Bitcoin (BTC) loses to gold when it comes to how easy it is to transport and confiscate, says Peter Schiff. In a tweet on July 29, the gold bug and infamous Bitcoin skeptic claimed that it was easier to move and preserve ownership of the precious metal. Gold is “absolutely transportable” “Gold is absolutely transportable and harder to confiscate than Bitcoin,” Schiff wrote. The comment caused an instant backlash, with BTC proponents immediately highlighting gold’s shortcomings. In addition to being physically bulky and therefore harder to transport, gold has long been extremely difficult to store privately. As Saifedean Ammous noted …

Understanding Bitcoin as something static as some thing with a solidified identity is not understanding Bitcoin at all. Bitcoin is not being. Bitcoin is becoming. The perpetuation of its identity is not terminal but rather instrumental to something else. Bitcoin maintains identity so that it can serve its meaning. And, like identity, meaning is malleable and exists only in the hivemind that projects it. A more revealing way to think about Bitcoin then is not to understand it as a physical construct as a decentralized payment network operating on a cryptographic protocol but as narrative. And dont just think of …

Nigel Green, the CEO and founder of financial consultancy firm deVere Group, says Bitcoin’s recent bullish activity shows it has the power to replace proven safe haven assets like gold. In a statement on the deVere Group’s website posted July 27, Green said Bitcoin (BTC) is currently living up to its namesake as “digital gold” while it and other cryptocurrencies are more likely to be seen as safe haven assets. “Up to now, gold has been known as the ultimate safe-haven asset, but Bitcoin — which shares its key characteristics of being a store of value and scarcity — could …

The Tether Gold stablecoin was valued at $1,902 on July 24, putting the price of gold within reach of the commodity’s all-time high set in September 2011. According to The Wall Street Journal, the commodity set a new record for closing price at $1,897.50 on July 24, but has yet to reach its record intraday high of $1,921 from 2011. Gold has risen 22.7% from $1,550 to $1,902 since Tether Gold (XAUT) — a stablecoin allowing ownership of one troy ounce of gold held in a Swiss vault controlled by the company — was released on Jan. 23. The surge …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced economies to a halt and stretched the central banking system. Central banks have been printing money on a scale like never before, which makes the 2008 financial crisis pale in comparison. Over $2 trillion dollars were printed to stabilize the markets and increase liquidity. Back in 2008, Bitcoin (BTC) was created in reaction to these quantitative easing programs as an alternative to fiat currencies and the traditional financial systems. Where governments can print money at will, a numerus clausus asset class is attractive as an inflationary hedge. In 2008, the financial crisis began with disruption …

Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies will not get their big break thanks to the problems with the fiat economy, says veteran trader Peter Brandt. In a series of tweets on July 22, the popular commentator forecast that in future, the world will resort to so-called special drawing rights (SDRs) based on multiple fiat currencies. Bye bye gold standard Similarly, a return to the gold standard will not occur, Brandt claimed, while the SDR setup would likewise not include Bitcoin or altcoins. SDRs were created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the late 1960s as an extension to member states’ reserves. …

A known gold enthusiast, financial commentator Peter Schiff said Bitcoin (BTC) holders are not actually looking to the asset as a storage of wealth — one of the most commonly touted use cases surrounding the coin. "I buy gold as a way to store my wealth, as a conservative place to keep liquidity, as opposed to keeping it in dollars or some other fiat currency," Schiff told interviewer Peter McCormack, host of the What Bitcoin Did podcast, during a July 17 episode. "I do think that when people are buying Bitcoin, they're really not looking for that," Schiff added. Bitcoin …

During a recent YouTube livestream, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and crypto expert Anthony Pompliano detailed the current post-COIVD-19 economy, noting the U.S. government's money printing and spending efforts. "There is a devaluation of currency," Pomliano said in his July 18 livestream. "The whole secret to building wealth is to get out of cash and get into assets that are denominated in dollars that will continue to go up in value over long periods of time — stocks, real estate, gold, Bitcoin, all this stuff." Assets up while the economy struggles COVID-19 prevention measures have caused economic stalling and job losses. …