{"id":2471,"date":"2021-02-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xcoins.com\/why-gold-was-the-global-asset-of-choice-throughout-history-and-why-thats-changing\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T06:53:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T06:53:00","slug":"why-gold-was-the-global-asset-of-choice-throughout-history-and-why-thats-changing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xcoins.com\/en\/blog\/why-gold-was-the-global-asset-of-choice-throughout-history-and-why-thats-changing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Gold Was the Global Asset of Choice Throughout History and Why That\u2019s Changing"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

For thousands of years, gold was the number one store of monetary value. Now, following the rise of modern fiat currency and the invention of Bitcoin, this may no longer be the case.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Whether it\u2019s a digital asset like cryptocurrency or a tangible asset like property, gold, or oil, everything in the world has value. In a sense, nothing has intrinsic value, value is defined by us as humans, based on what it\u2019s worth to us at any point in time.\u00a0As we saw last year when oil prices fell into negative numbers<\/a> for the first time in history, value can be fleeting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For thousands of years, the most common store of this value was gold. Throughout history, humans used gold to trade for items that they needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Why did gold come to dominate?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To answer this question properly, first, we need a very quick science lesson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Periodic<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Gold was chosen over all other elements because it has some key features that set it apart from the competition. There are 118 elements in the Periodic Table. Gasses are obviously non-starters, (you can\u2019t transact with gas). There are another 38 other elements that can\u2019t ever be used as a form of money because they are too reactive, corrode over time and\/or ignite when exposed to air.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That leaves only 5 possible precious metals that could be used for money by early civilizations: rhodium, palladium, silver, platinum, and gold. Both platinum and palladium are far too rare to have been able to provide enough coins to go around. To be used as money a metal must be rare enough that not everyone can mine it, but common enough that enough can be mined to allow people to do business.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Silver wasn\u2019t ever going to be the winner because it tarnishes and rhodium is again too rare to be passed around. This leaves gold as the most viable option.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In summary:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n