Side by side
Gold and bitcoin, side by side
Nine properties, described the same way for each asset. Where a property depends on how you hold the asset, the cell says so. The table describes two designs. It does not rank them.
Nine properties
Read across a row to compare one property, or down a column to see one asset as a whole.
| Property | Gold | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Form | A physical metal, the element with the symbol Au, sold as coins, bars, and jewelry. | A digital asset: a balance recorded on a shared ledger and controlled through cryptographic keys. |
| Supply | No fixed cap. The stock above ground grows as mining adds metal, and the total is hard to measure exactly. | Capped by the protocol at 21 million coins. The software will not issue more than that. |
| New supply | Mining adds to the existing stock at a rate set by cost, discovery, and technology. | Miners receive new coins as a block reward. The reward halves on a fixed block schedule, roughly every four years. |
| Verification | Assay, weight, and purity testing by specialists or tools. Counterfeits exist, so buyers rely on trusted dealers and testing. | Any full node can check the ledger's history against the protocol's rules, without relying on a trusted intermediary. |
| Custody | Held in a home safe, a bank vault, or with a custodian. Storage, insurance, and transport carry ongoing costs. | Held through private keys. Whoever holds the keys controls the coins, and a lost key cannot be reset by a help desk. |
| Divisibility | Divided by melting and recasting, or sold as small coins. Dividing it has a cost. | Divisible to eight decimal places. The smallest unit, one hundred millionth of a bitcoin, is called a satoshi. |
| Portability | Heavy and bulky at scale. Moving large amounts needs specialist secure transport. | Sent to any address on the network without a courier. Confirmation takes time, and fees vary with demand. |
| Track record | Used as money and as a store of value for thousands of years, across many cultures. | Launched in 2009. A short record, with long stretches of large price swings and public debate. |
| Main risks | Theft, storage costs, purity disputes, and long periods when the price stays flat or falls. | Lost keys, theft from exchanges or wallets, software bugs, and sharp price swings. |
How bitcoin issues new coins
Bitcoin's block reward is set by its software and cut in half at fixed block counts. Each era below is the period between two halvings, with the reward in bitcoin per block. Because each cut removes half of what is left to issue, the total supply approaches the 21 million cap without ever needing a decision by anyone.
What the table leaves out
The comparison does not say which asset is better for you, and it does not rank them. It leaves out tax treatment, legal status, and the differences between countries, all of which change over time.
It also does not show prices. A price is a record of what buyers and sellers agreed to at a given moment, and it can move far in either direction. Read the table as a description of two different designs, and check the primary sources before you rely on any single claim.
Not financial, legal, or tax advice. This page describes two assets. It does not recommend holding, buying, or selling either one.