Is Bitcoin Better than Gold as Investors’ Safe Haven?

With their meteoric price rises in 2017, cryptocurrencies garnered the attention of even the most unsophisticated investors, and applications beyond the blockchain were explored. Amid the growing hype, some even floated the idea that cryptocurrency could one day replace gold as one of the world’s most widely accepted investment assets. After all, the prospect of replacing physical mining that requires heavy machinery, deep tunnels, and chemical pools with computers running code is enticing.

Morningstar analysts created a safe-haven framework to test this theory – putting both gold and cryptocurrency through the five-part test.

Is Gold a Safe Haven Asset?

Liquidity Yes. The market for gold is highly liquid, both for physical and investment assets. Furthermore, with global acceptance of its value, its liquidity transcends national boundaries.

Functional Purpose Yes. Jewellery is gold’s single-largest demand category, accounting for more than half of global…