Will Bitcoin Become the New Safe-Haven Asset?

Bitcoin could become a safe-haven asset similar to gold.

Gold has always been viewed by investors as a safe-haven asset and appears to be a safe investment when market uncertainty and risk are high.

Likewise, Bitcoin has attracted investors’ attention when uncertainty and risk are high. After Trump won the U.S. presidential election, the price of the currency soared, and Bitcoin wallet service provider Blockchain also set a new record for transaction volume that month.

“I think people are starting to realize that, like gold, Bitcoin is a good hedge against the current monetary system because it’s outside of it,” said Bobby Lee, co-founder and CEO of BTCC, one of China’s three largest bitcoin exchanges.

“Gold is a hedge against the current monetary system where our society is entrenched in the current fiat monetary system where the government can issue as much money as it wants. In a sense, the current monetary system is no different than airline miles or hotel points.”

Like gold, cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any one central bank or country. Bitcoin uses a distributed network of computers to ensure the normal operation of transactions. Now, mining Bitcoin is becoming more and more difficult and requires more and more powerful computing power.

"The idea of ​​Bitcoin is that it's a finite digital asset," Lee said. "There are only 21 million Bitcoins in total. The smallest value of Bitcoin you can get is not 1 Bitcoin, but a fraction of 1 Bitcoin. But if you own 1 Bitcoin or 0.1 Bitcoin, you own that percentage of the supply forever, and no one can dilute it. In that sense, it's very attractive and very unique."

More drug transactions are settled in US dollars

But bitcoin has a bad reputation, one factor holding it back from becoming a mainstream investment. The cryptocurrency was initially backed by anarchist hacker gangs and exploited on the “dark web” and shadowy online forums to trade drugs, sex and other illegal products and services.

“The dollar is also used for illegal transactions like drugs,” Lee said. “Bitcoin can indeed be used for these illegal transactions, but it can also be used for a lot of good purposes, and I think this is a meta-narrative. If you want to look at the facts, a higher percentage of drug transactions are settled in dollars.”

"A knife can have a good purpose - I use it to eat my breakfast - but it can also be used for malicious activities, it's a matter of choice," he said. "You can try to confiscate all knives and guns, but that won't solve the problem of murder."

“Bitcoin itself is not going to lead to drug trafficking, just like the dollar itself is not going to lead to drug trafficking. I think it’s more important to focus on the right use case — how Bitcoin can bring value to society. I’m not worried about that. I think truth will prevail. I think Bitcoin has great functionality and its social value will be recognized.”

Currently, China is the world's largest Bitcoin trading market. Recently, the Chinese government has cracked down on illegal Bitcoin transactions, causing Bitcoin trading prices to fall sharply. But Li Yuanqi believes that Bitcoin can overcome these problems and is confident about the prospects of Bitcoin in 2017.

“Four years ago, Bitcoin was very popular in China,” he said. “Looking forward, I think Bitcoin is gaining attention on a global scale, driven by major events like demonetization in India and hyperinflation in Venezuela.”

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.