There are those who consider Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptocurrencies as little more than a kind of digital gold. After all, they note, there are elements of scarcity involved, and a lack of government connection to either aside from a few modest points. But cryptocurrencies are certainly gaining in popularity over gold, as demonstrated by recent changes in how many assets are under management at the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSEARCA:GLD) and how many are under management with spot Bitcoin ETFs.
There have been 11 such Bitcoin ETFs created recently, which has really only been an option for investors since January 11. But they caught on—man, did they ever—and now, the 11 of them account for a combined total of over $60 billion in assets under management. That by itself might not mean so much—it is split among 11 funds, after all—but the issue is that the SPDR Gold Shares ETF only has $56.9 billion under management. Effectively, this means that there are more assets tied up in Bitcoin than in gold, at least in one sense.
Investors Are Buying Both in Tandem
Here’s where things get a bit interesting, though. Even as investors are moving into cryptocurrency, they’re not necessarily moving out of gold. Word from JPMorgan notes that retail and institutional investors alike are buying in on Bitcoin—the numbers bear that out nicely—but they’re buying both in tandem.
JPMorgan found there was a build-up in both gold and Bitcoin futures since February. Indeed, hedge funds and other “speculative institutional investors” have been buying both almost simultaneously, perhaps using one as a hedge against the other.
Is GLD a Good Buy Right Now?
A look at GLD’s last five days of trading reveals a slight drop of just 1.01%. The drop wasn’t all at once, either, as GLD share prices plateaued multiple times before staging slight drops and slight recoveries.
