Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

No, gold has one advantage over bitcoin: in the worst case scenario (where you survive, though a couple religions let you take it with you) it is a physical thing that is somewhat pretty to wear as a ring on your finger.

Bitcoin and the like are entirely based on the idea that somebody else will want them as currency forever. Gold is based on somebody will want ti for either currency or jewelry forever. That gives gold a slight edge.

I don't know if it is significant, but it is a factor.



I've thought about the idea that the value of a cryptocurrency is in its network. Since bitcoin has a large network it has some value that can't easily be copied or replicated. I have wondered if the value is actually closer to something like Facebook stock than gold.


Gold is also truly fungible, and has maintained some value for thousands of years.


Gold is also a pretty good conductor of electricity


Gold is at best Okay. There is a common belief that gold is a good conductor, but it has too high resistance. Look at the table https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_con... gold is 5 on the list, well behind copper (which is what we use), and only barely ahead of aluminum.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: