FX.co ★ Gold to outperform Bitcoin in the long term

Goldman Sachs called gold a "more useful portfolio diversifier" and said it will outperform Bitcoin in the long term. They explained that real demand for the metal is not as affected by tightening financial conditions as the world's largest cryptocurrency, not to mention it has clear non-speculative uses unlike Bitcoin, which traders view as a stock for fast-growing technology companies. Gold is also used as a hedge against dollar devaluation and inflation.

Of course, Bitcoin could still be used as a hedge, especially since its potential comes from future use cases. But this makes it much more volatile and speculative compared to gold. Also, it surged when investors became interested in decentralized currencies, however, tighter financial conditions will not work in favor of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin's downward volatility has also been boosted by systemic concerns as several major players have declared bankruptcy.

Latest data indicates that spot gold is up 0.23% y/y, while Bitcoin is down 63%.

Going forward, gold is likely to get a boost from additional macroeconomic volatility. It could benefit from structurally higher macroeconomic volatility and the need to diversify its equity investments. Tighter liquidity should also have less impact on gold, which is more exposed to real drivers such as demand. These include physical demand, central bank purchases (which have been on record this year), investments in safe-haven assets and industrial applications.