Hunter Horsley, co-founder and CEO of Bitwise, a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency asset management firm, declared that the “digital gold” narrative limits bitcoin’s reach as an investment asset. Horsely stated that, while the “digital gold” representation has been helpful for bitcoin, it has many qualities that put it over gold and it is time to “graduate” from this notion.
Bitwise CEO: Bitcoin Should Move on From 'Digital Gold' Narrative as It Reaches Mainstream Adoption
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Bitwise CEO: It’s Time for Bitcoin to Graduate From Being ‘Digital Gold’
Different narratives are emerging around the next cycle of bitcoin in capital markets. Hunter Horsley, co-founder and CEO of Bitwise, a cryptocurrency index fund manager with over $3 billion in assets under management (AUM), has stated that it is time for bitcoin to shed the “digital gold” narrative and evolve to the next chapter in its history.
On social media, Horsley stated that bitcoin has had many visions in its history, being called peer-to-peer electronic cash, self-sovereign money, cryptocurrency, and lately digital gold. None of these are inherently wrong and only communicate the people’s different expectations of bitcoin.
However, for Horsley, the digital gold narrative around bitcoin is especially concerning, given it links it to one of the “least popular asset classes in the world.” He puts this contradictory link in perspective, stating that most investors who hold bitcoin don’t have any gold.
For Horsley, the digital gold narrative around bitcoin gives it no advantages and pigeonholes its potential. He stressed:
Unlike gold, BTC doesn’t require an assay to transfer, doesn’t require storage, can be almost instantly transferred, is much more apolitical due to lack of counterparties, and has much greater return potential.
For him, it is time for bitcoin to “graduate” from this notion, as the asset class prepares to reach mainstream markets and new audiences. Nonetheless, relevant actors have a different vision on the subject and commonly use “digital gold” to describe the benefits of bitcoin.
Recently, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, compared bitcoin to digital gold due to its “scarcity similar to gold through mathematical consensus,” while solving the difficulties derived from the physical properties of the metal.
What do you think about the digital gold narrative around bitcoin? Tell us in the comments section below.
