Gold Vs Bitcoin: This Akshaya Tritiya, Is BTC Also An Investment Option? Let’s Find Out

While BTC might grow at a faster rate, gold guarantees stability that crypto assets aren't able to.

While the data and growth numbers do suggest that Bitcoin is more lucrative, the actual answer to the gold-vs-Bitcoin debate is not so straightforward.

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Akshaya Tritiya is set to be celebrated across the country on April 22. To mark the festivities, a major uptick is seen every year in gold purchases. While this tradition is mainly aimed at seeking the blessings of Lakshmi — the Hindu Goddess of wealth — who is believed to have been born on this day, investing in gold also promises the ownership of a fail-safe asset which almost never sees a major depreciation in price. In the last 12 months, gold prices have registered a hike of nearly 14 per cent, trading at Rs 62,660 (24 karats, 10 grams) at the time of writing, up from Rs 54,135 on April 21, 2022. 

Lately, virtual digital assets (VDAs) — most notably cryptocurrencies — are slowly gaining popularity as a lucrative investment avenue. So, more and more people have started to wonder if investing in crypto will prove to be more beneficial than investing in gold. Let’s try and find out. 

Gold Vs Bitcoin: Price Growth In Last 10 Years

Gold price in India, back in 2013, stood at Rs 29,000. As mentioned earlier, it has hiked to Rs 62,660 as of April 21, 2023. This marks an impressive jump of over 53 per cent. 

Bitcoin, on the other hand, was first introduced in 2009, at around $0.0041 (roughly 30 paise) per token. In 2013, Bitcoin price saw a notable uptick, as more and more users around the world began investing in the crypto. As a result, BTC price in early 2013 stood at Rs 1,070 per token. Interestingly, by November of that year, BTC price saw an immense jump and stood at Rs 82,389.

As per CoinMarketCap and WazirX data, at the time of writing, BTC price stood at $27,888.90 or Rs 24.80 lakh. If we compare it to the November 2013 price, Bitcoin saw a whopping 96.67 per cent jump in value — nearly double the growth of gold in the same period. 

This year alone, Bitcoin price stood at $16,533.16 or Rs 14.34 lakh on January 1 and managed to see a jump of over 42 per cent to date.

Gold, on the other hand, began 2023 at Rs 55,350 on January 1, and has seen a jump of over 11 per cent to date.

So, Is Bitcoin A Better Investment Than Gold?

While the data and growth numbers do suggest that Bitcoin is more lucrative, the actual answer to the gold-vs-Bitcoin debate is not so straightforward.

For starters, gold has already established itself as an institutional asset. Despite seeing much volatility early on, gold has now become a stable asset which hardly ever sees major movement in prices. So, if you do invest in gold, you can rest assured that your investment will not tank unless a major global economic crisis occurs. 

Bitcoin, or any cryptocurrency for that matter, are not as stable as gold. Matter of fact, crypto is so volatile that it is nearly impossible to predict price movements. On one night, a tweet by Dogecoin supporter Elon Musk can rally DOGE and other crypto prices up by never-before-seen rates. The following night, the price of crypto might just plummet down, losing even more than it had gained in the first place. 

Bitcoin, for example, saw an all-time high of $68,789.63 in November 2021. But in May 2022, due to the collapse of the LUNA token, BTC prices dipped down to a miserable $18,000 range. 

What Investors Should Keep In Mind

If you are keen on investing in crypto, it is always advised to do proper research on digital assets, and their recent price movements, and try to gauge what market sentiments are like first. 

If market volatility doesn’t really matter to you and you have some funds that you don’t really need in emergency cases, you may consider Bitcoin as the investment avenue, owing to its higher chances of greater yields. Even if you do decide to invest in crypto, it is always a good idea to diversify and put your money into multiple assets to protect yourself against volatility and other mishaps.  

Gold, on the other hand, is largely considered to be a sure-shot asset that promises a considerably great return, even if the growth rate is slower when compared to BTC. Gold is also considerably safer when compared to crypto when we consider online hacks and cyber attacks (especially if you invest in physical gold and not digital gold). 

Slow and steady do win the race most times!

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.