Gold has a lot more intrinsic value than bitcoin will ever have. It’s quite reasonable to explain a large part of gold’s price as speculation on continued demand for jewellery.

There’s a 5000 year history of gold. But only a few grams per person in this world; and a great number of people feel some sort of pressure to buy a few grams for their spouses.

Obviously what I’m saying is an oversimplification. But if we imagined a world where gold did not have its lustrous history, it might still be sold at the same price. In this world, gold would still cost around 800 dollars an ounce to mine; but the only difference would be the market cap for gold would be very small and would serve its niche applications (comparable to the market for terbium or platinum).

Gold might be overpriced a little bit. But the debate about bitcoin is if it’s worth anything at all.

Disclosure: I work for a bitcoin trading firm.