Bitcoin's price has surpassed gold, is it worth buying now?

Tencent Finance reported on the morning of March 4th, Beijing time, that the price of Bitcoin exceeded the price of gold per ounce for the first time on Thursday. In this regard, Paul Mladjenovic, author of the book Precious Metals Investing for Dummies, told the Market Watch website that Bitcoin, as a digital currency, does not yet have the conditions to become a long-term store of value like gold and silver.

“It also needs to be more stable and it also needs to have the same durability as gold and silver, which is built up over centuries, not just years,” Paul Mladjenovic said during a MarketWatch Facebook Live show.

CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index shows that in Thursday's trading, the price of Bitcoin climbed to a record high of $1,251.32. The price of gold futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $1,233.20 per ounce, down 1.4% on the day. Data shows that the price of gold has risen by more than 7% so far this year, while the price of Bitcoin has risen by more than 25% during the same period.

This means that Bitcoin is now worth more than gold for the first time.

Paul Mladjenovic said that some people have begun to believe that Bitcoin, a digital currency that has only been around for eight years, can become a substitute for gold and silver due to its limited quantity. However, Paul Mladjenovic believes that given the short history of Bitcoin and its relatively volatile prices, it is difficult for Bitcoin to be equated with gold and silver. Bitcoin is still only a market for speculators.

Bitcoin prices have been on an upward trend since early 2015, driven in part by demand in the Chinese market, and have recently started to rise again, helped by growing expectations that the China Securities Regulatory Commission may soon approve the launch of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Before the collapse of Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin trader, in late 2013, the price of bitcoin climbed as high as $1,242 on some exchanges. Since then, the price of bitcoin has fallen to a low of $200, entering a bear market.

Paul Mladjenovic also mentioned many investment themes related to gold and other precious metals in the interview. He believes that with the trend of accelerating global inflationary pressure, gold prices are expected to rise. (Yi Hai)