Bitcoin vs. Gold: Crackdowns Could Swing Balance in Metal’s Favor

eteran ‘gold bug’ Gerald Celente has said Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies “have a long future” despite “not owning any of it.”

Speaking to US TV network Kitco News Tuesday, trends analyst Celente criticized comments made by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon about Bitcoin being a “fraud.”

He also agreed Bitcoin was “stealing gold’s thunder” thanks mainly to ease of access for investors from nations such as China and India. Long-term, however, regulatory risks meant that gold would remain a go-to fiat escape.

“While Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are going to have a place in the future […] gold is still the tangible that nothing replaces at this time,” he stated.

Gold and Bitcoin have had a poignant relationship this year as Bitcoin surpassed the price of an ounce of the precious metal for the first time.

Demand for gold is surging meanwhile, leading to forecasts of $1,400 per ounce through 2018. The world may never produce as much per year again, chairman of the World Gold Council Randall Oliphant said this week.

Celente was more optimistic still, saying it could “skyrocket” to $2,000 once prices break above $1,400. This would usurp all-time highs gold posted in 2011 when it topped $1,920.

For Bitcoin meanwhile, the future’s main problem was the banking industry.

“Banksters are going to continue to talk it down because it makes banking obsolete and the banksters obsolete,” he continued.

“You listen to the words of Jamie Dimon and he brags that it’s central banks that give fiat currencies their standard… What kind of currency is that?”