Globally, gold is still an asset with higher volumes than bitcoin. As claimed by the London Bullion Markets Association, the average daily value of gold transfers is roughly US$ 20 billion, whereas bitcoin trades amount to over US$ 1.5 billion.

Such market data as well as recent developments indicate bitcoin is increasingly being perceived as a new safe-haven asset, to which investors can resort in times of crisis. In short, it is a genuine competitor to gold. The big difference is the thousand years track record of gold against just seven years of bitcoin.