Report: Gold Still Trusted Over Bitcoin, But the Gap is Closing

Key Findings

A better investment to maximize profits? 56% said bitcoin, 33% said gold
A better store of value to protect against inflation? 50% answered gold (including 67% over the age of 54), 39% answered bitcoin
$50,000 initial investment to build a retirement nest egg? 45% would put it in gold, 42% said bitcoin
$50,000 initial investment strictly to maximize profits? 49% want it in bitcoin, 37% prefer gold

Bitcoin is up roughly 68,189,500% since its start in 2009, while gold is up 105% over the same period.

Gold is proven as a reliable investment and safe haven against market volatility and inflation, which is especially relevant in 2021. Bitcoin is becoming a competitor for just the same thing, although its wild price fluctuations are not for the faint-hearted and attract a younger, more aggressive investor.

To capture this increasing competition between bitcoin and gold, LendEDU surveyed 1,000 Americans to better understand where investing preferences lay.

We found gold is still trusted for more cautious investing, especially amongst older Americans, but bitcoin is closing that gap and is preferred for speculative investing, especially with the younger crowd.

Click here to jump to the full survey results.

Note: If you would like a raw file of any data found below, or if you would like to see a specific breakdown (by age, state, gender, etc.), please email me at [email protected]

Observations & analysis

All data is based on an online survey of 1,000 adult Americans commissioned by LendEDU and conducted by research firm Pollfish. The survey was conducted on April 21, 2021. For some questions, the answer percentages may not add up to 100% exactly due to rounding.

Investors eye bitcoin for profits, gold for safety

To begin the survey, we asked respondents several questions to better understand what people thought bitcoin and gold investments were best for. Responses were also broken down by age.

Americans thought bitcoin was the better speculative asset and the better investment to maximize profits. They thought gold was the better store of value to protect against both inflation and market volatility.

These results were none too surprising; bitcoin has periods of monumental gain that make it a salivating buy for aggressive investors trying to make a profit. But it also has periods of monumental loss and faces constant regulatory and institutional scrutiny that make it a questionable buy if your first investment priority is protecting the money you already have.

Gold, on the other hand, doesn’t have eye-popping surges like bitcoin but it’s safe and has historically delivered steady profits to the patient investor looking for a financial safe haven.

The results really played out when looking at age breakdowns, revealing a younger bias towards bitcoin and an older population favoring gold.

For example, 56% of those between the ages of 18 and 24 thought bitcoin was the better speculative asset, while 29% thought gold was. In comparison, those percentages were 29% and 55%, respectively, for poll participants over 54.

Here’s another one: 42% of the 18 – 24 cohort thought bitcoin was a better store of value to protect against inflation, while 44% said gold. For the over 54 cohort, those percentages were 16% and 67%, respectively.

A surprising age group was 35 through 44, as they were quite bullish on bitcoin in all four questions and actually broke with the normal trend that had older respondents favoring gold and younger ones opting for bitcoin. This could be due to this demographic getting in on bitcoin in the extremely early stages, around 2010 when they were in their mid-twenties or early-thirties.

Interestingly, when we asked respondents if they have invested in bitcoin or gold recently amid concerns about inflation, 15% had invested in gold, 31% in bitcoin, 15% in both, and 36% in neither.

For retirement investing, gold still holds a dwindling edge

In another part of the survey, poll participants were given four increasing monetary values and asked if they would rather invest each value in either bitcoin or gold to build a retirement nest egg that they couldn’t touch until retirement.

In nearly every scenario, gold was the preferred retirement investment choice over bitcoin. Only when $1,000 was the starting amount did more respondents (47%) want to invest in bitcoin over gold (43%).

But as the starting amount went up, so too did the risk, which is likely why respondents switched over to the less-risky, less-volatile gold to start building their retirement nest eggs as the questions progressed. Retirement accounts should be stable, and you’ll lose a lot less sleep investing $50,000 in gold instead of $50,000 in bitcoin.

Surprisingly though, bitcoin is not as far behind gold as one might have expected in terms of being the preferred retirement investment.

Once again, the age breakdowns told a more complex story.

No matter the initial investment amount, most age groups actually preferred building their retirement nest egg through bitcoin rather than gold. For example, 46% of the 45-54 cohort wanted to invest $50,000 in bitcoin compared to 41% who said gold.

The overall results really only played out like they did because the 54 and over respondent group so heavily leaned towards investing in gold for retirement. For example, 57% from that group wanted their $50,000 in gold compared to just 19% who wanted it in bitcoin.

As we head into the future, this is welcomed news for bitcoin bulls because if enough Americans already trust bitcoin over gold as a retirement investment then it could mean soaring bitcoin prices as younger Americans amass more wealth, more purchasing power, and more of a stake in the virtual currency.

For maximizing profits, bitcoin takes the cake

For the last four questions of the survey, respondents were once again given increasing monetary values but now had to think about if they wanted to invest in bitcoin or gold for maximizing profits, not building a retirement nest egg.

When it came to investing for profits and nothing else, bitcoin was the clear choice over gold for each monetary value. For example, 57% wanted to invest $1,000 in bitcoin over the 33% that opted for gold, and 49% wanted to invest $50,000 in bitcoin compared to 37% who answered gold.

So while there was a slight tightening in the results as the amounts got larger due to the aforementioned increased risk of investing large sums of money in bitcoin over gold, bitcoin still held a strong edge over gold when profits were the priority.

Even when the results were broken out by age, every single age group except the over 54 cohort, which heavily favored gold throughout the survey, wanted to invest in bitcoin over gold for every single monetary value.

And when you look at a bitcoin price chart, it’s hard to argue there is a better choice for your investment money when you’re just trying to maximize profits.

Full survey results

Note: If you would like a raw file of any data found below, or if you would like to see a specific breakdown (by age, state, gender, etc.), please email me at [email protected].

1. In your opinion, which is a better speculative asset?

51% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
39% of respondents answered, “Gold”
10% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

2. In your opinion, which is a better investment to maximize returns/profits?

56% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
33% of respondents answered, “Gold”
11% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

3. In your opinion, which is a better store of value to protect against inflation?

39% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
50% of respondents answered, “Gold”
12% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

4. In your opinion, which is a better store of value to protect against market volatility?

38% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
52% of respondents answered, “Gold”
11% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

5. Have recent concerns about inflation persuaded you to invest some of your money in bitcoin or gold?

15% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in gold.”
31% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in bitcoin.”
15% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in both.”
36% of respondents answered, “No, I invested in neither.”
4% of respondents answered, “I’d rather not say.”

6. Have recent concerns about market volatility persuaded you to invest some of your money in bitcoin or gold?

16% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in gold.”
31% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in bitcoin.”
14% of respondents answered, “Yes, I invested in both.”
36% of respondents answered, “No, I invested in neither.”
4% of respondents answered, “I’d rather not say.”

7. In 2021, gold’s current market cap (share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding) is $11 trillion, bitcoin’s is $1.1 trillion. By the year 2031, do you think gold or bitcoin will have a bigger market cap?

32% of respondents answered, “Gold”
43% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
13% of respondents answered, “Equal”
13% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

8. By the year 2041, do you think gold or bitcoin will have a bigger market cap?

29% of respondents answered, “Gold”
47% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
11% of respondents answered, “Equal”
13% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

9. To build a retirement nest egg that you wouldn’t touch until retirement, would you rather invest $1,000 in gold or bitcoin?

43% of respondents answered, “Gold”
47% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
10% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

10. To build a retirement nest egg that you wouldn’t touch until retirement, would you rather invest $10,000 in gold or bitcoin?

45% of respondents answered, “Gold”
44% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
12% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

11. To build a retirement nest egg that you wouldn’t touch until retirement, would you rather invest $25,000 in gold or bitcoin?

46% of respondents answered, “Gold”
42% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
11% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

12. To build a retirement nest egg that you wouldn’t touch until retirement, would you rather invest $50,000 in gold or bitcoin?

45% of respondents answered, “Gold”
42% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
13% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

13. As strictly a stock market play to maximize profits, would you rather invest $1,000 in gold or bitcoin?

33% of respondents answered, “Gold”
57% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
11% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

14. As strictly a stock market play to maximize profits, would you rather invest $10,000 in gold or bitcoin?

35% of respondents answered, “Gold”
53% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
12% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

15. As strictly a stock market play to maximize profits, would you rather invest $25,000 in gold or bitcoin?

38% of respondents answered, “Gold”
49% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
14% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

16. As strictly a stock market play to maximize profits, would you rather invest $50,000 in gold or bitcoin?

37% of respondents answered, “Gold”
49% of respondents answered, “Bitcoin”
14% of respondents answered, “Not sure/I’d rather not say.”

Methodology

All data found within this report is based on a survey commissioned by LendEDU and conducted online by survey platform Pollfish. In total, 1,000 adult Americans were surveyed. The appropriate respondents were found via Pollfish’s age filtering feature. This survey was conducted on April 21, 2021. All respondents were asked to answer all questions truthfully and to the best of their abilities.

See more of LendEDU’s Research here.