Bitcoin Isn’t Sapping Demand for Gold

By Sujha Sundararajan

A Goldman Sachs executive has said there is “no evidence” that bitcoin’s price gains have reduced demand for gold.

Amid investor concerns over the issue, Jeffrey Currie, global head of commodities research for the financial services giant, told the Financial Times this week that he believes investor pools for the two assets are different. Further, bitcoin’s lack of regulation, he alleged, is an obstacle for traditional investors.

Still, bitcoin prices have shown astonishing gains over the past month, particularly in the wake of bitcoin futures trading launched by CBOE Global Markets last Sunday, movements that coincide with the fact gold is witnessing a slump in price.

Currie, however, asserted that gold and bitcoin have different characteristics and that the recent price action is due to the nature of demand for the assets.

He said:

“In our view, bitcoin is attracting more speculative inflows relative to gold.”

Saying that gold ETF holdings are at their highest level for over four years, Currie stated there is “no evidence of a mass exodus from gold.”

And although the lack of liquidity and high volatility may make bitcoin “interesting,” it will not likely be a draw for investors seeking the diversification and hedging benefits of gold, he remarked.

The statements follow those by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein 10 days ago when he said he believes it’s still too early for the bank to consider a bitcoin strategy as it “doesn’t feel like a store of value.”

In November, the company’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, indicated that, while he’s not “comfortable” with bitcoin, he is open to the cryptocurrency.

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