Digital currency asset manager, Grayscale, caught the financial worlds' attention with the release of their new "Drop Gold" campaign Wednesday. The 40-second commercial follows a man and a woman who realize for the first time the insufficiencies of holding gold. As people run around Wall Street lugging gold bars, the voice-over begins, "Why did you invest in gold? Are you living in the past?"
The commercial is just one piece of Grayscale's campaign to encourage investors to add Bitcoin to their portfolios and ditch gold. Their efforts bring to light one of Bitcoin's most promising use cases and like most things in crypto, ignites a debate.
Are Bitcoin and other of cryptocurrencies better utilized as a store of value or as a payment method?
Store of Value:
The gold industry has done a fantastic job of marketing an overpriced metal but bitcoin has superior physical properties and market utility. I believe that bitcoin will become the store-of-value for our digital age," said Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group and its subsidiary Grayscale Investments.
Unlike Gold, Bitcoin has an array of use cases and is already being used across the globe. Its price also acts independently from other asset classes, proving it a solid hedge against traditional stock holdings.
"The risks of investing in Bitcoin should certainly be considered with the context of a diversified portfolio," said Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale Investments managing director. "Because of its unique use cases and low correlation to traditional asset classes (i.e., stocks and bonds), bitcoin may offer return-enhancing, risk-reducing benefits to many investors."
Payment Method:
The other side argues that Bitcoin should be used instead of fiat currencies for everyday payments. Bitcoin offers many advantages to fiat – it's cheaper to transfer, faster to settle, more secure, and completely borderless. While mainstream adoption has yet to occur, many retailers around the world are beginning to realize the benefits of crypto payments and are accepting it in place of fiat.
Read more about the benefits of crypto payments here.
Who's Right?
Both use cases are compelling and have the potential to revolutionize the way we invest and transfer wealth. Crypto makes a great store of value and in our opinion is far superior to gold, but many existing cryptocurrencies are also an excellent payment method. Advances on both fronts are bringing mass adoption closer and closer.
What’s your opinion? We know you have one!