Gold — A Store of Value or an Example of Human Folly?
The Story of Gold and the Future of Bitcoin
By Medium standards, this is a long piece. Perhaps it is sometimes worth proceeding as Shakespeare advised:
“Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (Shakespeare)
A Champion Metal
Despite humanity’s furious mining and search for Gold, stretching back 4,000 years ago, there is not much Gold on earth. The science writer Theodore Grey writes in his superb book, ‘The Elements — A Visual exploration of every known atom in the Universe,’ “All the Gold ever mined in the history of the human race would fit into a cube about 21 meters on edge.” (This figure has been updated for production up to 2020)
In addition to shining brightly, Gold retains its brilliant color for millennia, is malleable, resistant to acids, does not rust, and easily conducts electricity. It easily forms alloys with silver, copper, platinum, and palladium. Gold is used in jewelry, coins, dental fillings (yes you can still get a Golden smile), electronic devices, satellites, other space equipment, and in Indian temples as an offering to the gods.
Theodore Grey writes, “You can find a piece of Gold lying on the ground where it has been for a million years, pick it up, dust it…
