Gold or Bitcoin?

I started buying precious metals over 40 years ago. I was young and dumb.

At that time in 1980, silver had hit $50 an ounce or more, and as some of you may remember, it quickly plunged back to reality at $20 an ounce by the end of that year. If, instead of silver, I had invested the same $6,000 in dividend-paying, boring stocks, I would have close to $200,000. Today, the silver I bought back then is worth about $8,400. During the past 45 years, it has also produced no income.

Some ten years ago, I started buying gold. Dumb idea part 2? Easier to store in the safety deposit box was frankly the reason. Silver is bulky and heavy. The price of gold has risen from $1,409 to $5,750 in Canadian funds over the past 10 years. That sounds impressive, but it really doesn’t mean much.

It doesn’t produce any income, but it does provide some peace of mind. With the government printing dollars like drunken sailors, it helps me sleep at night.

If silver and gold are pretty much dumb ideas as an investment, what about this crypto thing?

Bitcoin surged to over $125,000 per coin and has now quickly retreated to around $83,000 in US funds. It’s supposed to be the next big thing in finance. The US president has a stake with his family. So apparently does organized crime.

I haven’t had much to do with it. Some years ago, in our Angel fund, I invested in a Canadian bitcoin platform and did very well, selling out at a 600% return. I didn’t understand it much and only invested a small amount, but it was helpful for the fund overall. It still didn’t make up for my silver purchase. (yup, still holding those precious ounces).

I have no idea what crypto, or bitcoin, is, other than it reminds me a bit of those tulips that were the rage in the Netherlands many years ago. It has value if someone else will pay you more for it than you paid. That’s it. Hype is daily, tickers are all over the place, and it’s very stressful to be an owner.

Gold is a bit like that, too, but you can hold it and visit it once a year at the bank and know it's real. Crypto is out in the cloud somewhere.

It’s very likely that Bitcoin will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars someday. But if you own it, at what stress cost to your life?

Stress-free investing for me is everything. I believe it’s not only the most effective but most healthy way to invest. Next week, I’ll explain it in more detail. If you want more of an in-your-face answer on bitcoin or gold, just ask Hank, my cloned brain in an app. The answer likely won’t surprise you a bit. If you like watching your heart rate race and staying up at night thinking of the bitcoin spike or drop, buy some. Just remember, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. How much of that do you want to spend thinking of a dumb bitcoin investment?

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