The price of spot gold has recently reached its highest point ever, leading to renewed criticism of Bitcoin from gold investors. On April 3, gold reached a record high of $2,304 per ounce, resulting in an 11.5% gain for the typically slow-moving asset since the beginning of the year, according to the American Hartford Gold Group. The surge in gold prices can be attributed to global tensions, uncertainty surrounding potential interest-rate cuts, and the process of de-dollarization. Bitcoin, often referred to as “digital gold,” faced mockery from both gold enthusiasts and Bitcoin skeptics in light of this milestone for the precious metal.
Peter Schiff, a prominent gold advocate and detractor of Bitcoin, pointed out in an April 3 post that Bitcoin had dropped by 7% in the second quarter of 2024, while silver and gold had increased by 8.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Schiff claimed that these results spoke for themselves. However, it is worth noting that Schiff’s post was made only three days into the second quarter, and Bitcoin has actually gained 55% this year, surpassing gold’s gains by a factor of five over the same period.
In a subsequent post, Schiff suggested that it might be the last opportunity to sell Bitcoin and buy gold and silver at favorable prices. He warned that failure to act would result in continued poverty. This irony was not lost on some observers, with one crypto trader remarking that they didn’t have another 60 years to wait for gold to increase by another $1,500.
Charlie Morris, an analyst and researcher at Bytetree, also took a dig at Bitcoin, stating that gold had reached its all-time high without the consumption of electricity, referring to the energy-intensive nature of Bitcoin mining. However, environmentalist and Bitcoin ESG researcher Daniel Batten quickly pointed out that the energy required for gold extraction primarily comes from fossil fuels.
Brady Swenson, the co-founder of Swan, questioned how one could be a gold enthusiast without understanding the gold mining process, sharing his apocalyptic experience visiting a gold mine. Interestingly, while the leading gold-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost $2.4 billion from the beginning of the year to mid-February, spot Bitcoin funds saw inflows of $3.89 billion during the same period.