Bitcoin trading in Brazil surpasses gold trading

Reports indicate that in the first half of 2016, the total volume of Bitcoin transactions on Brazilian digital currency exchanges has surpassed gold transactions on the country’s securities market and regulators, including the Brazilian Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange.

Investors around the world increasingly view Bitcoin as a store of value. China accounts for more than 90% of global Bitcoin trading volume. Brazil, another major economy, is also seeing a growing demand for cryptocurrencies.

According to the non-profit organization FEE, BitValor, a Brazilian Bitcoin information resource, showed that Bitcoin trading on Brazilian cryptocurrency exchanges reached 164 million reais (about $47 million). At the same time, gold contracts (especially 250g and 10g gold bars) on securities, commodities and futures exchanges reached 153 million reais (44 million US dollars). Bitcoin trading in Brazil exceeded gold trading by nearly 7%.

In addition, the Bitcoin trading volume from January to June 2016 has exceeded 45% of the cryptocurrency's annual trading volume in 2015, and even surpassed the total trading volume in the first half of the past three years.

The rise in Bitcoin trading shows that it is a paradise for safe transactions in the minds of investors.

The value of cryptocurrencies has risen by nearly 50% since the beginning of the year, and observers point to a number of factors, including increased demand for cryptocurrencies from Chinese buyers and the Brexit vote. A weak economy and an uncertain outlook have also led investors to flock to Bitcoin.

Data from the London Gold and Silver Market show that the global over-the-counter gold market trading volume is between US$150 billion and US$240 billion. In contrast, Bitcoin trading volume has reached approximately US$142 million in the past 24 hours.

Although cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy, some investment institutions and experts have shifted from saving gold to saving Bitcoin. Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of the digital asset exchange, recently pointed out that Bitcoin is "better gold than gold."