Gilded bug and Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff was only 17 years old when the yellow metallic set its true all-time price loftier. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC), a much younger nugget, sits close to its inflation-adjusted all-time high afterwards just three years of downward pressure.

Gold reached a toll of $678 U.South. dollars in 1980, according to a breakup from Visual Capitalist. Accounting for inflation, based on calculations from Officialdata.org, $678 in 1980 held the aforementioned buying ability as approximately $2,142 in 2020.

The precious metal technically bankrupt its U.S. dollar all-fourth dimension high this twelvemonth, hitting $two,075, according to TradingView data. Its 1980 record purchasing power level remains unbroken, however. Since its push to $2,075 in Baronial, gold has retraced in price, sitting near $1,778 per ounce at the time of publication.

Bitcoin hit its final all-time toll high in 2017, tagging $xix,891.99, according to Coinbase's price index. Bookkeeping for inflation, Bitcoin's tape high stands at $21,131.02 in terms of value, Officialdata.org indicates.

Gold has stood the test of time as a store of value for thousands of years, undergoing price discovery in each era as people determine the metal's worth through buying and selling. The game has potentially changed with BTC though, which is similar to a digital representation of gold — a commodity with deficient supply used for value storage. Bitcoin touts lower barriers for storage and transaction, too belongings a defined limited supply.

Economist Schiff has pitted aureate against BTC many times, often discounting Bitcoin's worth. While golden moves slowly in price compared with Bitcoin, Schiff likes golden for its wealth-maintenance role.

Bitcoin has ridden a dramatic cost rally in recent weeks, reaching within $100 of its Coinbase all-fourth dimension price loftier. Raoul Pal, a macro investor, recently indicated his intention to sell his gilded stack and buy more than BTC.

"I have a sell lodge in tomorrow to sell all my gold and to scale in to buy BTC and ETH (80/twenty)," he tweeted on Nov. 29. "I dont own anything else (except some bond calls and some $'due south)," he said, adding: "98% of my liquid internet worth. Meet, you tin can't categorize me except #irresponsiblylong."

Amid Bitcoin'south upwards surge, people are reportedly exiting aureate in droves, as seen in contempo tape outflow numbers.