Tommy Mustache, a crypto investor and supporter of the decentralized “freedom of money” concept, recently reminded his followers via Twitter that bitcoin’s (BTC) value has increased by 118,000% since 2011.

Mustache pointed out that the price of gold is actually down by 33% since 2011 – as the spot price for an ounce of gold has fallen from a high of $1,800 7 years ago to currently around $1,200. Meanwhile, BTC was trading at about $3 but has since appreciated in value to presently over $4,000 – according to data from CryptoCompare.

BTC Is Just 1% Of Gold’s Market Cap, 25% Of Affluent Millennials Using Crypto

Moreover, the current market capitalization of bitcoin is only (approximately) 1% the size or value of gold’s market cap of over $7.4 trillion. Commenting on this price and investment distribution, Mustache questioned:

If Bitcoin can one day capture 20% of the Gold's market, it will be a $1.5 trillion market cap. Do you see young people buying gold or a Bitcoin?

As CryptoGlobe reported in late October, a quarter, or 25%, of American millennials are now using digital currencies in some way. This, according to a new report by Edelman titled “Millennials with Money” – which was published in October of 2018.

The research report’s findings revealed that a quarter of American millennials are now using cryptocurrencies in some way. The methodology used by the report’s authors involved conducting an online survey of 1,000 people in the 24-38 age group (who are considered millennials).

Moreover, those surveyed had $50,000 in investable assets and/or an annual income of $100,000 or more. Millennials who fit this criteria were considered “affluent” by the report’s authors. Deidre H. Campbell, the global chair of Edelman’s financial services sector, said:

Anyone that has crypto tells me they wish they bought it sooner. I think it’s a sense of a younger generation being open to more risk in their portfolio and willing to try new things with crypto.

As covered, Lou Kerner, the co-founder and partner at CryptoOracle.io, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on investing in blockchain-related startups, had said that bitcoin is a “much, much better” store-of-value (SoV) than gold.

Analyst: People Will Eventually Switch From Gold To BTC

Kerner noted that BTC is “functionally” much better compared to gold as it’s a digital form of SoV, whereas, gold is physical so it is more difficult to store and manage. According to Kerner, people will eventually switch from gold to bitcoin as a long-term investment. Going on to explain gold’s emergence as a global SoV, which took a “couple of thousand years”, the Stanford University graduate said: “We would expect over time … for some of the people using gold ” as a SoV to switch to BTC.

However, not everyone considers the comparison between gold and bitcoin to be a valid one. A detailed blog post on American Bullion, Inc.’s official website reads:

Gold is the ultimate survivor. Gold [will] always be [valuable]. If the USD collapsed or the banking system failed, gold could be there to facilitate trade and store wealth. It is primarily a defensive commodity and its function is close to that of insurance. Bitcoin, by comparison, is much more aggressive and flexible. It’s easier to actually use Bitcoin to complete transactions (legally and practically). It has a very defined speculative quality. And there is no reason that Bitcoin should be valuable forever. Bitcoins have no inherent value or functional operative use. Gold is valued for its beauty and its metallic properties. Bitcoin only serves a digital function.