Bitcoin hits all-time high against gold as haven battle rages

Bitcoin price claimed another all-time high on Friday, this time against gold, offering further confirmation that demand for digital assets is on the rise. 

As Bitcoin (BTC) zipped past $29,000 on Friday, the digital currency reached a high of 15.40 gold ounces, surpassing the previous peak from December 2017, according to MarketWatch data.

According to U.Today, the Bitcoin-gold rate peaked at 15.62 ounces during the early morning.

2020 was a watershed year for Bitcoin as institutional adoption helped catalyze a bull market unlike any we’ve seen thus far in its 11-year history. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin saw a massive increase of around 300% in 2020.

Gold also posted impressive gains for the year, though they paled in comparison to Bitcoin’s meteoric rise. The yellow metal’s spot price ended the year on a 25% gain.

Bitcoin’s biggest proponents believe the digital currency is eating away at gold’s market cap as investors opt for the efficiency, portability and proven scarcity of the asset. Astonishingly, that view is also shared by JPMorgan Chase analysts, who believe Bitcoin’s digital gold narrative is drawing capital away from precious metals.

Some believe that Bitcoin’s supply squeeze could send prices higher over the course of 2021. As Cointelegraph recently reported, digital asset manager Grayscale bought up nearly three times the BTC mined in December. Demand from PayPal, Cash App and others has also contributed to an apparent supply shortage of BTC.