Cryptocurrency enthusiasts chant that investing in Bitcoin is comparable to investing in gold. In their view, Bitcoin is the digital world’s gold. This has swept gold investors off their feet and gold hoarders are now switching to buying Bitcoin and saving it.
Gold has been considered the strongest investment for centuries. This is also the case because gold investment has time and again proven to be profitable. Also, because the price of gold has in all these years been consistently rising with a few exceptions. This comparison of Bitcoin with gold now has gained a lot of audiences. People are willing to bet their investments on Bitcoin now. It is widely believed that the future is of Bitcoin.
In cultures like India gold holds a lot of significance. Not only for investment purposes but also as an ornament worn by women. Even though household in India owns gold of around 250,000 tons, the crypto investment is still growing. The cryptocurrency investment has risen from $923 Million in April 2020 to about $6.6 Billion in May 2021. Chain analysis reveals that this is still happening in face of opposition against Bitcoin from the Central Bank. The Central Bank intends on imposing a trading ban but the Indian people are undeterred.
One such example is of, 32-year-old Richi Sood, who happens to be an entrepreneur in India. She converted from gold to crypto in anticipation of the changing world of business. After selling gold and borrowing some money from her father she invested $13,400 in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ether in December 2020.
Sood now prefers investing in crypto rather than gold. The reason for this shift is because he believes that crypto investment is more translucent as compared to gold and property investment. With crypto investment, one can expect massive returns in a short period of time.
Data reveals that many Indians are now involved in buying and selling cryptocurrency. It is estimated that around 15 million people in India have invested in cryptocurrency and the number is rising with each passing day.
Sood just represents a small segment of the large number of people who are buying and selling cryptocurrency. It is estimated that 23 Million cryptocurrency traders exist in the U.S and 2.3 Million in the UK.
The biggest hurdle is the absence of proper regulations for regulating crypto trading. As soon as uniform regulations for crypto trading are introduced in India the cryptocurrency investment will soar further.
One of the biggest barriers preventing wider adoption is regulatory uncertainty. Last year, the Supreme Court quashed a 2018 rule banning crypto trading by banking entities, resulting in a trading surge.
The discussion above reveals that the world is experiencing a shift from gold investment to crypto investment. This is being done because of the growing popularity and returns cryptocurrency offers. However, currently, the crypto, as well as Bitcoin markets, are going down. If recovery is not made within, for instance, 3 to 4 months, then Bitcoin might lose its title of “New Gold”.