Gold Is ‘Toilet Paper’ for the Rich, Bitcoin for the Poor — Max Keiser

People are going to buy Bitcoin (BTC) in droves — because there will be no gold for sale due to coronavirus, Max Keiser predicts.

In a recent edition of his Keiser Report news program on March 31, Keiser said that the coronavirus pandemic will push billionaires into gold as a safe haven. 

Keiser: people will “flock en masse” to BTC

Once supplies are bought up and stockpiled, the only alternative left is Bitcoin.

He summarized:

“I predict — and this is not only the ultimate use case but the ultimate irony — that once people realize that they cannot get gold, they’ll start flocking en masse into Bitcoin.”

The basis for the claim was a report from Bloomberg from March 25 which warned that the gold industry was “facing unprecedented turmoil” due to a spike in demand.

As Cointelegraph reported, the precious metal has seen noticeable price volatility in 2020. From lows of $1,469 just two weeks ago, markets have since shot up to highs of $1,629 — an increase of 10.9% in just one week.

Bitcoin versus gold 1-year chart. Source: Skew.com

Coronavirus: is gold the next toilet paper?

Gold has a number of drawbacks over Bitcoin. In contrast to the cryptocurrency, it is costly and risky to move, especially across borders, and generally needs a trusted third party to store it. Unlike on the Bitcoin blockchain, there is also no way for the market to know in real-time whether a particular unit of gold is genuine.

Gold is also afflicted by the phenomenon which has impacted every money in history except Bitcoin — the higher the price, the more effort humanity devotes to increasing the supply. 

As Saifedean Ammous notes in his book, “The Bitcoin Standard,” Bitcoin cannot have its supply increased, even if its price rises dramatically, due to its difficulty adjustment feature.

On the topic of supply, the Keiser Report added that this time, unlike the financial crisis of 2008, gold mines are shutting down over coronavirus, ironically stifling the opportunity to boost the supply.

“We could be encountering a severe crisis in the gold markets, just like in the toilet paper markets,” co-host Stacey Herbert summarized.

Keiser had previously stated:

“Remember: billionaires think of gold and silver the way the unemployed think about toilet paper.”