Source: Coindesk
Author: Ilan Solot、Sarah Morton
原标题：Crypto for Advisors: Bitcoin and Gold, Stores of Value
Compiled by: BitpushNews Mary Liu
summary:
Ilan Solot, senior global market strategist at Marex Solutions, analyzes the role of gold and Bitcoin as store of value assets and how this role changes over time.
DJ Windle, founder and portfolio manager at Windle Wealth, explains how Bitcoin and gold are stores of value and the differences between each asset.
The argument that gold and Bitcoin’s value storage function is weakening
Summary: The approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could represent a similar change in the market to what central banks caused in the gold market after 2022 - a new factor that at least temporarily overwhelms traditional narratives, including the "store of value" concept.
The market sell-off in August frustrated supporters of Bitcoin’s store of value properties. After all, the cryptocurrency fell sharply this week while gold surged. Worse, Bitcoin performed poorly when the entire market rebounded.
However, despite the price increase, gold has also lost some of its so-called store of value, with price and narrative decoupling around 2022. As real yields and inflation expectations rise ahead of central bank tightening, traditional investors continue to follow a decade-long pattern of selling gold. The problem is that this time, gold is going in the opposite direction.
Why didn’t the gold price respond to its store of value macro drivers? The market structure changed: Asian central banks increased their gold purchases significantly when Russia invaded Ukraine and seized its foreign exchange reserves. We could even say that these governments were following their own competing narratives.
From a Western investor’s perspective, Russian, Indian and Chinese policymakers do not care about the importance of gold as a “store of value.” Fed policy, inflation expectations and liberal principles may never influence the accumulation cycle and, ultimately, the use cycle of their gold reserves.
Over time, the approval of a cryptocurrency ETF in the U.S. could represent a disruption in market structure similar to that seen for gold.
This could bring the narratives of BTC (store of value) and ETH (crypto) closer to traditional investment assets. In other words, ETF investors may follow different narratives and demand functions (e.g., portfolio rebalancing or disposable income) than crypto-native investors, just as Asian central banks buy gold for different reasons than traditional investors.
Indeed, recent ETF and Bitcoin price data appear to support this conclusion. Despite the volatility in Bitcoin prices over the past few months and the shifting narrative around Bitcoin, ETFs continue to attract inflows. Note that this is a very short timeframe, so any extrapolation should be treated with caution. But so far, the direction appears to be correct. In fact, the impact of Grayscale BTC and ETH outflows gives us a glimpse into how cycle-independent ETF flows can affect prices.
Does this mean that gold and Bitcoin are no longer a store of value?
Not necessarily. Narratives can coexist, shift, weaken, and take turns leading prices. However, the presence of new, large, and different groups of investors in both markets can dilute the original narratives and change the way prices react to macro events.
- Ilan Solot, Senior Global Market Strategist, Marex Solutions
Expert View: DJ Windle, Founder and Portfolio Manager at Windle Wealth
Q: What is a store of value?
Answer: A store of value is an asset that can be saved, retrieved, and exchanged in the future without significant loss of its purchasing power. Assets such as gold, real estate or stablecoins have traditionally served this purpose as they tend to retain their value over time and over market downturns. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't fluctuate in the short term. The core idea is to provide protection against inflation, currency devaluation and economic instability over time, allowing investors to preserve wealth across generations.
Q: How is Bitcoin similar to gold?
A: Bitcoin and gold share several characteristics that make them attractive stores of value. Both have a limited supply - gold's natural scarcity and Bitcoin's capped supply of 21 million. Neither is controlled by any central authority, making them attractive alternatives to traditional fiat currencies. However, both Bitcoin and gold present different types of security risks that need to be addressed when investing in them. During times of economic uncertainty or inflation, investors tend to flock to these assets to preserve value, viewing them as a hedge against market volatility and loss of purchasing power.
Q: How is Bitcoin different from gold?
A: Bitcoin has new properties that gold does not have. As a digital asset, Bitcoin can be transferred globally in minutes, whereas gold is cumbersome and costly. Bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology ensures transparency, allowing for verifiable ownership and transactions. In addition, Bitcoin is programmable, which means it can be integrated into digital applications such as smart contracts and DeFi platforms, making it highly versatile in the modern financial ecosystem. These qualities make Bitcoin an innovative choice beyond the traditional uses of gold.
Twitter：https://twitter.com/BitpushNewsCN
BitPush TG communication group: https://t.me/BitPushCommunity
Bitpush TG subscription: https://t.me/bitpush
Btok subscription: https://btok360.com/bitpush
