Bitcoin has come a long way. There’s no doubt about that, and it’s garnered a lot of fans along the way, but for some, bitcoin is nothing but a Ponzi scheme. This is the ultimate sentiment of State Street Global Advisors’ George Milling-Stanley, who oversees the world’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund.
George Milling-Stanley: Gold Always Beats BTC
In a recent interview, Milling-Stanley commented that while bitcoin has garnered a reputation for being “digital gold,” he says this view isn’t correct, and anybody who thinks any form of crypto is a substitute for gold is fooling themselves. He also said the volatility of crypto has caused several problems for the arena and its traders, and that in the end, gold is always going to be the best answer for those looking to stabilize their portfolios. He stated:
Volatility does not back up any claims for crypto to be a long-term strategic asset as a competitor to gold.
Ever since the COVID pandemic took hold of modern society roughly three to four years ago, the idea that bitcoin is somehow a hedge against inflation has taken over investors’ minds, though this idea was hugely challenged in 2022 when the economy took its worst beating since the Great Recession of 2008. During that time, inflation was at a 40-year high and the Fed continued to hike rates as a means of fighting the problem.
It was also during this period that the price of bitcoin dropped by more than 70 percent. The asset rose to a new high of about $68,000 per unit roughly two months before the new year started, and from there, it engaged in a series of dips that brought its price down to the mid-$16K range by the time we were ready to say hello to 2023.
Milling-Stanley said the idea of bitcoin being a hedge against inflation is ridiculous. He also said gold is the true enemy of inflation and one of the most stable assets on the planet. He commented:
Gold is a hedge against inflation. Gold’s a hedge against potential weakness in the equity market. Gold’s a hedge against potential weakness in the dollar. To me, historically, the promise of gold for investors has… overtime [helped] to enhance the returns of a properly balanced portfolio.
Asia Loves the Precious Metal
He also said gold is likely to experience huge surges in the coming weeks and months given how high demand is in Asian regions. He concluded with:
It’s pretty clear that we’re liable to be in a period of slow growth… Historically, gold has always done well during periods of slower growth… It’s not just China and India. It’s Vietnam, it’s Indonesia, it’s Thailand, and Korea. It’s a whole raft of Asian countries that are really the main drivers of gold jewelry demand.