Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

Bitcoin is Interesting, But It’s Not the Next Gold

By

By Wit Olszewski @ Shutterstock.com

Last year the word bitcoin became part of the everyday lexicon in America, and many parts of the world. The phenomenon “investment,” was being traded by grandmas and kids. Coverage of bitcoin’s rises and falls has been on TV every day for months now. If there was ever a classic bubble, this was it.

Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free.

Olga Kharif reports at Bloomberg:

Bitcoin tumbled for a fifth day, dropping below $7,000 for the first time since November and leading other digital tokens lower, as a backlash by banks and government regulators against the speculative frenzy that drove cryptocurrencies to dizzying heights last year picks up steam.

The biggest digital currency sank as much as 22 percent to $6,579, before trading at $7,054 as of 4:08 p.m. in New York, according to composite Bloomberg pricing. It has erased about 65 percent of its value from a record high $19,511 in December. Rival coins also retreated on Monday, with Ripple losing as much as 21 percent and Ethereum and Litecoin also weaker.

“Although no fundamental change triggered this crash, the parabolic growth this market has experienced had to slow down at some point,” Lucas Nuzzi, a senior analyst at Digital Asset Research, wrote in an email. “All that it took this time was a large lot of sell orders.”

The technology behind bitcoin is interesting, and there are certainly other great uses for blockchain, but was there ever any real value in the crypto currency itself? With Central Banks clamping down, and prices dropping fast, the world might not have a chance to find out.

One thing is certain though, bitcoin was never the next gold. Despite investors who sing its virtues, bitcoin doesn’t yet have the history or respect to come close to gold’s reliability. Gold is a hard, tangible asset that works, even if the lights go out. That’s its appeal. Bitcoin on the other hand relies completely on the grid to operate. If you’re looking for a store of value in disaster, there’s nothing better than gold.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

Recent Posts from YourSurvivalGuy.com

Your Key to Retirement Wealth

When you look at your lifetime of earnings, you realize your key to retirement wealth is keeping what you’ve made. Too many investors are separated from their money by looking for markets to make their dreams come true. The arithmetic of portfolio losses makes it difficult to rebuild the wealth you earned the hard way […]

HARDSHIP WITHDRAWAL: Do You Have Emergency Funds?

According to a new study by Fidelity, Americans are increasingly turning to their 401(k)s to withdraw money in what are known as hardship withdrawals. As explained by Fidelity “Hardship withdrawals are only available to workers experiencing an “immediate and heavy” financial need as defined by the IRS. They are only allowed to withdraw funds to […]

EVERGRANDE: The World’s Most Indebted Property Developer

You have read about how investors in Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, are “counting on the commies” for help as the company is restructured or potentially liquidated. A long-delayed liquidation hearing was scheduled for Monday, but it was once again delayed. Leaving creditors with little understanding of what they can expect from Evergrande […]

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

Originally posted July 26, 2018. The Efficient Frontier, created by Harry Markowitz in 1952, measures the efficient diversification of investments that delivers the highest level of return at the lowest possible risk. Investors must consider the trade-offs between risk and reward in their portfolios. You can see on the chart below an efficient frontier line […]

Stop America’s Zombie Apocalypse before It Starts

Your Survival Guy has unfortunately experienced the discomfort and uncertainty of a prolonged natural gas outage. When gas service went out in much of Newport, RI, back in 2019, it took days to recover, and many people in town faced significant hardship. Your Survival Guy and Gal did just fine, but it was a real-time […]

Small Government Just Works

You have read a lot on Your Survival Guy about how states that treat residents like customers rather than like piggy banks to withdraw funds from are winning. Your Survival Guy’s 2023 Super States features a group of states that put residents ahead of politicians’ personal agendas by focusing on lower taxes, and smaller government. […]

Locking In a Generational Opportunity in Fixed Income

UPDATE 11.30.23: Have you added fixed income to your portfolio yet? After over a decade of loose monetary policy, some investors have forgotten about the benefits of fixed income in their portfolios. Some younger investors have come into adulthood having never experienced bond yields worth sinking their teeth into. Now they can. Don’t miss a […]

RIP Charlie Munger: Keeping It Simple Never Goes out of Style

You may have read that Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has passed away. Munger was a legend in the world of investing, and was known, as Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal explains, “for his straightforward advice to business leaders.” Zweig writes: Business and financial leaders made frequent pilgrimages to Los […]

Explosion in Gun Ownership Creates Difficulties for Progressives

Banning certain forms of gun ownership has become a centerpiece of the progressive political platform. But after radical progressive politicians fomented a crime wave beginning in the summer of 2020, many Americans, even those in left-wing constituencies, began purchasing firearms for protection. The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal explains: More than half of […]

It’s California vs. Florida in the Big State Debate

On Thursday, November 30, Fox News and the station’s primetime personality, Sean Hannity, will host a debate between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Isabella Simonetti explains the debate in The Wall Street Journal, writing: They aren’t running against each other. Still, Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom will take their fiery feud to Fox News this […]

Shiffrin Brings It Home with World Cup Win at Killington

You have read about the amazing career of competitive skier, Mikaela Shiffrin. Last time she appeared on YourSurvivalGuy.com, she had notched her 87th World Cup win. It was already safe to put Shiffrin in the GOAT category of athletes near Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, and Michael Phelps. No one has ever dominated skiing the way […]

Prepare for Solar Storms in 2024

The sun experiences solar storms in a roughly eleven-year cycle, and according to scientists, that cycle could peak next year. The peak of this cycle, called the “solar maximum,” has the potential to hit the earth with solar storms that can damage satellites and even electronics on the ground. Jonathan Chadwick reports for the Daily […]

Can the Supreme Court Stop Wealth Taxes Before They Start?

You probably haven’t heard of Moore v. United States, a little-known case working its way through the courts that could have major implications for America’s savers and business owners. The case revolves around the government’s power to tax unrealized gains. These are gains on assets that an owner hasn’t locked in yet, and which could […]

Families Can’t Save Enough

American households are the least prepared they’ve been in a decade to cover an unexpected $2,000 expense. That’s a sign that inflation and slow wage growth have hurt the ability of Americans to save. Bloomberg’s Alexandre Tanzi reports: The ability of US households to cover an unexpected $2,000 expense is at the lowest level in […]