Meta: Are you considering an investment but not sure what to choose? Find out more about gold bullion and why it’s a safe haven investment during volatile global periods.
In recent years, cryptocurrency has been in the spotlight, with many investors moving their attention to digital assets. While it undoubtedly has a place in a modern portfolio, gold remains just as valuable as ever – if not more so.
Crypto is very vulnerable to geopolitical events, and tends to track equities with market movement. By comparison, gold bullion is widely recognised as a safe haven that holds its value during even the most volatile of times.
The world has endured a difficult period since 2020, and as it moves in 2022 and beyond, there are still many challenges ahead. This has led to a plunge in the price of crypto, while gold has held firm, increasing in value.
Here’s a closer look at why gold is such a strong investment and why it’s an asset that no one should ignore.
A Historical Asset
Gold has been prized as an asset for centuries; even in ancient times dating back to 550BC, gold was used as a currency for exchange. However, it didn’t adopt its more formal role until the 19th century, when the gold standard was created.
This involved pegging the price of global currencies to the cost of gold, a system that remained in place until 1971 when Nixon announced the official switchover to a floating fiat system.
Although gold no longer backs any of the major world currencies, it remains one of the most valuable commodities. Governments from every country have stockpiles of gold to bolster their wealth and to hedge against risk.
Why Is Gold a Safe Haven
Gold has many qualities that are highly valuable to mankind, meaning that no matter what happens in the economy, it will still be in demand.
We think of gold as necessary for storing wealth or creating beautiful jewellery, but it has a vast range of more functional applications too. Unlike oil or gas, gold isn’t ever “used up” – once it’s been mined, the chemical compound will continue to exist forever.
Some of the industries that gold is commonly used for includes dentistry, food and drink, beauty, electronics, computing, glass, mobile phone, and space travel.
Gold is still seen as a symbol of wealth and is sought after for status. In 2010, a hotel in Abu Dhabi became the first in the world to offer a “gold ATM” where customers could buy bullion and nuggets of gold on demand. The idea may sound crazy, but there are now many more of these machines around the world, and they are hugely popular with a certain type of clientele. Gold remains sought after as a sign of wealth and as an investment vehicle that will endure.
A quick look at the price of gold over the last 100 years shows that confidence in gold is well-placed. Although it has endured periods of short-term volatility, overall, the value of the yellow metal has climbed and, in 2022, sits at record levels.
While all other forms of investment falter, gold holds strong, and it’s for this reason it retains its crown as the safe-haven currency that can weather all storms.
Your Own Little Piece of Gold
As we’ve seen above, gold is highly sought after and this extends to virtual assets as well as physical treasures.
First place in competitions are often referred to as the “gold medal” spot, and games that offer virtual gold tokens have an irresistible allure.
And that’s the logic behind the release of the new Gold Bar Roulette game from Evolution Gaming. It follows many other online roulette games launched by the studio but offers the added incentive of gold bars.
Unlike an investment, there’s no guarantee of getting your hands on gold bullion in real life, but the gameplay gives you the feel of being a real tycoon. Set in what feels like a gold vault and surrounded by bullion, there’s the chance to play for seriously big prizes. And of course, if you win, there’s nothing to stop you from investing in some real-life gold of your own!
