Gold or Bitcoin

The ChatGPT artificial intelligence tool appears to have picked a side in the long-running debate over the respective worth of gold versus Bitcoin as a sound investment. Financial commentator Peter Schiff has praised the prominent generative text engine for reportedly favoring gold.

“AI is pretty intelligent after all,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “It didn't recommend any allocation to Bitcoin.”

The investor referenced a report from last week covering ChatGPT’s idea of a “recession-proof” portfolio. The document—published in “Gold IRA Guide”—claimed that ChatGPT recommended a 20% allocation to gold and other precious metals to minimize the impact of any one market downturn.

The rest of its hypothetical portfolio was comprised of bonds (40%) “defensive” stocks (30%) and cash (10%)—absent any mention of Bitcoin.

Yet the AI bot’s answer may not necessarily be a knock against crypto, nor a promotion of gold. When Decrypt directly asked on April 6 for its opinion on “Gold or Bitcoin,” ChatGPT said the choice of which to buy ultimately depends on your investment goals.

“[Gold] is a tangible asset that is considered a safe-haven investment during times of economic uncertainty,” it stated “Gold is a limited resource and is difficult and expensive to mine, which gives it a certain level of scarcity and intrinsic value.”

The bot contrasted the historic money with Bitcoin, which “is not backed by any physical asset or government” and is “considered by many to be a speculative investment.”

“Gold may be a better choice for those seeking a stable, long-term investment, while Bitcoin may be more suitable for those looking for a high-risk, high-reward investment opportunity,” it concluded.

It should also be noted that the corpus of knowledge on which ChatGPT is based is current only through 2021, and likely does not include the significant movements—both up and down—that the price of Bitcoin has seen since.

Both gold and Bitcoin investors are winning big this year, with each asset respectively up 10% and 68% year to date. The former just crossed a multi-year resistance level at $2,000 per ounce, which Schiff believes could now serve as the “launch pad for a moonshot,” per a tweet on Thursday.

Gold and Bitcoin are often compared as forms of money due to their strong monetary properties—particularly scarcity, which theoretically makes them resistant to inflation or monetary debasement like fiat currencies. Both assets surged in March after the Federal Reserve bailed out depositors to Silicon Valley Bank, injecting hundreds of billions of dollars back into the banking system to prevent similar bank failures.

While Schiff takes the opportunity to double down on gold, an army of Twitter Bitcoiners continue to disapprove—including his own son.

“Long-term bitcoin is a much better buy than gold,” said Spencer Schiff to Decrypt via DM when asked about gold’s latest gains. “Bitcoin is likely to demonetize gold in the long term. Regarding short term, I have no idea, I’m not a trader I just focus on [the] long term.”

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