From Gold to Code: Bitcoin as the New Standard
Beyond the history of economics, gold has enjoyed a privileged position as the revered contender to the ultimate form of money. Thus, its physical characteristics, such as scarcity, durability, and divisibility, have ensured that it is well suited to serve as a medium of exchange and measure of wealth.
However, in the digital age, a new contender has emerged: That is why different types of currencies exist, like Bitcoin. Indeed, by labelling it as ‘digital gold’, one can draw quite a lot of similarities to the actual gold in its modern implementation, yet it is and only is a digital commodity.
This transition from gold to code is a progression worthy of an alchemist, and it places Bitcoin in the omnipresent form that is more suitable for the post-industrial world we live in now.
Bitcoin, launched in 2009 by an unknown individual or group under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, was designed as an electronic payment system. Nevertheless, in years subsequent to the G7 Accord, the gold/bills ratio evolved from one in which gold was solely used as a medium of exchange as required by the hard exchange rate into a medium of stored value and an inflation hedge.
Just like gold, Bitcoin is limited; the number of them that will ever be circulated is 21 million. This fixed supply is particularly remarkable…
