Bitcoin skeptics continue to deride the cryptocurrency as gold reaches unprecedented levels

Spot gold prices have surged to a record high, leading to renewed criticism of Bitcoin from gold investors. According to the American Hartford Gold Group, gold reached an all-time high of $2,304 per ounce on April 3, marking an 11.5% gain for the typically slow-moving asset this year. The price of gold began to rise in mid-February, climbing from around $2,000 per ounce to over $2,200 in late March. This increase can be attributed to growing global tensions, uncertainty surrounding potential interest-rate cuts, and the de-dollarization trend, explained Nanette Abuhoff Jacobson, an investment strategist at Hartford Funds. While Bitcoin is sometimes referred to as “digital gold,” the recent peak in gold prices has led to renewed mockery from goldbugs and Bitcoin critics. Notably, gold bull and Bitcoin detractor Peter Schiff claimed that Bitcoin had declined by 7% in the second quarter of 2024, while silver and gold had respectively increased by 8.7% and 3.4%. However, Schiff’s comparison is misleading, as BTC has actually gained 55% this year, outperforming gold by a factor of five. In response to Schiff’s comments, some crypto traders pointed out that they do not have the luxury of waiting decades for gold to appreciate further. Charlie Morris, an analyst and researcher at Bytetree, also took a swipe at Bitcoin, highlighting that gold had reached its record high without consuming significant amounts of electricity in the mining process. However, it was noted that gold extraction largely relies on fossil fuels, whereas Bitcoin is increasingly being mined using renewable energy sources. Despite the surge in gold prices, gold-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen losses of $2.4 billion since the beginning of the year until mid-February. In contrast, Bitcoin funds have attracted $3.89 billion in inflows during the same period.