Digging deeper - Is bitcoin digital gold? A mining perspective

Dirk G. Baur, Jonathan R. Karlsen, Lee Smales and Allan Trench

Journal of Commodity Markets, 2024, vol. 34, issue C

Abstract: Bitcoin is often labelled digital gold and many studies compare bitcoin and gold prices, returns and volatility. This paper digs deeper and compares the characteristics of bitcoin mining with gold mining to assess claims that bitcoin is digital gold. We identify 20 differences between gold and bitcoin mining. Gold miners locate where gold is present while bitcoin miners locate where cheap electricity is present. Gold mining has large barriers to entry relative to bitcoin mining making it relatively difficult to start and abandon a gold mine but much easier to start and abandon a bitcoin mine. This is reflected in a greater exposure of gold miners to gold prices and a smaller exposure of bitcoin miners to bitcoin prices. While the analysis demonstrates that bitcoin mining is less complex and less risky than gold mining, the similarities support the idea that bitcoin is digital gold.

Keywords: Bitcoin; Gold; Mining; Decentralized mining; Centralized mining; Proof-of-Work; Proof-of-Stake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G18 O31 O32 O33 Q02 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jocoma:v:34:y:2024:i:c:s2405851324000254

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomm.2024.100406

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