Crypto investors should consider buying gold, Newcrest Mining CEO says

Sandeep Biswas, managing director and CEO at Newcrest Mining, believes crypto investors should consider buying some gold to protect themselves against highly unstable prices of cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC).

“If you’re into cryptos, you want to consider having some gold,” Biswas said on Bloomberg TV Thursday, stressing that gold is less volatile than crypto.

The exec emphasized that gold is a different class of investment. “It’s a tangible asset: you can see it, you can touch it, you can feel it, you can mold it, you can make it into jewelry, whatever you want.” 

Biswas noted the scarce nature of gold, stating, “There's only so much that will be found [...] whereas cryptocurrencies, we see them proliferating all over the place.“ 

The mining exec said that the overall trend of gold prices remains strong amid the global inflation and money printing triggered by government stimulus programs to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biswas’ remarks come amid a slight spike in volatility on crypto markets. After breaking its new all-time high of over $48,000 on Feb. 9, Bitcoin subsequently saw a correction, with BTC price pulling back below $45,000 the next day. As reported by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin’s annualized volatility surged amid rallying prices recently, nearly touching the volatility levels recorded amid “Black Thursday,” when Bitcoin price plunged 40% in a matter of days from $9,000 to $5,200.

Amid highly volatile moves on the crypto market, gold has been steadily inching up amid a weaker United States dollar triggered by hopes for a U.S. stimulus package. At the time of writing, spot gold is trading at $1,842, slightly up around 0.1% over the past 24 hours.

In December 2020, American investment bank Goldman Sachs suggested that Bitcoin’s parabolic surge in late 2020 should not hurt traditional assets like gold. “We do not see evidence that Bitcoin’s rally is cannibalizing gold’s bull market and believe the two can coexist,” the bank stated.