The meeting of two worlds-bitcoin and gold

Kanishka Sukumar a consultant working in downtown Manhattan, says her parents often keep their money in gold to preserve their value. But this 24-year old thinks that feed a better future for their savings.

"In times of financial turmoil, would prefer a portfolio full of bitcoins" says Sukumar, which has about a third of its assets invested in the currency advanced.

Bitcoin is gaining ground among gold metal enthusiasts, who question the stability of paper currencies and care about knowing how to protect their savings during the next emergency.

A recent survey of 3,500 users bitcoin found that one in five has the cryptocurrency because it wants banks or the government "control my money," according to data provider CoinDesk. This was the second chairman reason for bitcoins, after doing so as an investment alternative.

Since its launch seven years ago, bitcoin has shared with gold's appeal be an option for those who want to keep their money outside the scope of a focal authority. But as their violent price swings have eased, bitcoin has begun to look more like an a haven for some of his supporters.

"It's a way of saying that you do not trust people," says Michael Novogratz, an owner of bitcoins and hedge fund manager who left Fortress Investment Group LP last year.

Novogratz think bitcoin can attract an some of those people who otherwise would spend to gold. The investor said he had a "significant" investment in bitcoins and just one ounce of gold, which he said was a gift.

Volatility in bitcoin prices in April fell below the price of gold for 28 consecutive days, the longest period in its history. The bitcoin price volatility also fell briefly below the other safer, as the Japanese yen, according to data from FactSet and CoinDesk assets.

Bitcoin has become a mainstream tool for quick and anonymous transactions. The number of bitcoin wallets, ie electronic accounts used for payment with cryptocurrency, doubled in 2015 to more than 12 million, according CoinDesk.

The criptodivisa has also attracted traders looking to leverage their sometimes volatile price movements. The New York Stock Exchange monitors bitcoin prices and derivatives market CME Group reported earlier this month that it is developing a price index for the currency spot.

Murat Akdeniz, a student business 25 years at Cornell University, said its operating bitcoins daily activity has been reduced due to the volatility of the stock price. Now makes more sense to buy and hold bitcoins, which already has 10 coins, he said.

Accepting bitcoin chairman also reflects the growing confidence of his generation technology in government, said Akdeniz. "If China will choose its gold seller, my bitcoin price will not be adversely affected," he said.

Some investors cited economic uncertainty as another reason to have bitcoins, especially since the worldwide recession fears an one have shaken the markets and some central banks have reduced interest rates into negative territory.

Bitcoin has become "a store of value for those concerned about other asset classes," said Gil Luria, head of research at Wedbush Securities technology. "Gold time the only refuge for those who have great concerns about the worldwide economy and the monetary system."

Gold is often regarded as a haven for many investors who trust that will preserve its better than paper currency value. During the Greek emergency last year, investors seeking safety in gold demand soared and bitcoins, operators and exchange of electronic currency said.

"I like [bitcoin] as a hedge against economic collapse," says Brian Estes, venture capitalist 48 years in St. Louis, Missouri. Having the currency advanced, he said, is like having a "hedge against ATMs and banking systems if they stop working for a while".

Not everyone is convinced that the future of bitcoin is bright. The cryptocurrency faces regulatory hurdles worldwide and has undergone major price fluctuations. Security forces say the currency has been used in the former black online market known as the Silk Road and to buy illegal drugs.

Some more optimistic child on the technology used bitcoin that computerized active itself. Dwindle Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott Inc., said the system known as chain blocks-a data structure that allows you to create and share the advanced accounting transactions-which supports the criptomonedas has the potential to improve gold transactions . But does not see any value in the bitcoin unmistakable.

"Let an investment in the digitalisation of gold, but we will continue with the gold," said Grosskopf.

Compared to gold, the bitcoin market is very small. The amount of money in bitcoin is estimated at US $ 6,900 million according to the provider wallets bitcoin Blockchain, while current operations in the gold market range from US $ 150,000 million and $ 240,000 million a day, according to the World Gold Council. operations listed funds dedicated to gold around US $ 80,000 million.

Murray Stahl, chief investment officer of Horizon Kinetics, which manages US $ 6,000 billion in assets, said that as Bitcoin becomes more established, more criptomonedas contemplates buying gold instead. Kinetics owns shares of Skyline Investment Trust Bitcoin, the groundwork investment vehicle traded bitcoins. Stahl said its exposure to bitcoin is between 0.5% and 1% in several portfolios, compared with 3% to 4% stake in the securities linked to gold.

"I'm not willing to give up completely to gold," he said. No ban, "over the next 10 years there will be an alternative cryptocurrency"