Comparison of Storage Costs of Digital Gold vs Physical Gold

John McFerd
5 min readMay 31, 2024

Warren Buffett, a top investor, once said, “Gold is a way of going long on fear.” People often use gold to spread out the risks in their investments. But, deciding between real or digital gold means looking at their trade-offs. This includes how easy they are to use, their costs, earnings, and risks, and how you would actually use them.

Gold ETFs can be better for taxes and cost less over time than real gold. You can get physical gold in various ways. Gold comes from many places, but some big producers are Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, and the U.S. Gold jewelry makes up about 43% of the gold market in 2023, while bars or bullion are about 16%, and coins make up about 9%. When you buy real gold, the price depends on the market value and the gold’s purity. Coins and jewelry usually cost more than the gold’s base price. Remember, you’ll need a safe place to keep it and insurance if you choose real gold.

Understanding Digital Gold Investment

Digital gold is a project on the blockchain. It lets users store and spend gold digitally through gold tokens based on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. Each gold token is equal to one gram of 99.99% pure gold in the company’s vault. It acts like a stablecoin. This way of investing means you get security and transparency. This is because liquidity is certain with independent direct checks. They make sure the tokens in use match the gold in storage.

Using the Ethereum blockchain, digital gold offers quick deals and low costs. It can be used with any ERC-20 wallet. People can trade buy and sell gold tokens easily and without set limits. Also, the project doesn’t start with an initial coin offering (ICO), it’s self-supported. This keeps the gold tokens’ prices stable because they’re linked to gold’s real-time price. This shields against ups and downs in the crypto market.

Besides, users can possess gold without revealing their identity. Plus, the physical gold is insured by Chubb Insurance Company. It’s kept safe in vaults in Singapore. The project’s goal is to make gold more globally used. It uses blockchain to present a safer, easier way to deal with gold.

Exploring Physical Gold Investment

Investing in physical gold is a time-honored tradition, known for holding its value across the ages. Because of this, its demand keeps rising. You can buy physical gold as jewelry, coins, or bars. It’s popular among investors who like to see and touch their investments. But, making sure it’s safe can be a challenge. Yet, for many, it’s worth it for the sense of wealth it brings.

Keeping gold at home lets some investors feel more secure. They worry less about financial crises since their gold is close by. And it’s a good way to pass wealth to the next generation. This is especially true for luxury items, like gold jewelry, which can be both beautiful and a smart investment.

Physical gold makes up a big share of the world’s gold, over 39%. It’s worth around $5 trillion. But, keeping this gold safe can be tricky. You might need a safe or a bank vault. And unlike other investments, physical gold doesn’t pay you back through income or dividends. In comes digital gold, which doesn’t need physical storage. This makes it cheaper and simpler to secure. Plus, it’s easy to sell when needed.

The choice between physical and digital gold depends on what you hope to achieve and your risk tolerance. For some, a mix of the two, plus gold ETFs, can help lower risk and improve portfolio diversity.

Comparison of Storage Costs

Digital gold is a smart and cost-effective way to invest in gold. There are no storage fees. This means you can keep your physical gold safely without the big costs of traditional gold investing.

The gold bars behind digital gold are kept safe in special vaults. They are insured too. Kinesis, for example, stores its gold in highly secured vaults in 9 countries.

When you invest in physical gold, you need to pay for its safe storage and insurance. This can get costly, especially with a large amount. The fees for managing, storing, and insuring digital gold are lower, usually around 2%-3%.

Factors to Consider for Investment

Historically, gold’s value has gone up steadily. It relies on price increases over time. For example, if you spent $100 on gold and $100 on British pounds in the 1980s, the gold’s worth would likely be more in 2021. This shows how gold can resist inflation, keeping its value for years. With gold often growing in value when inflation rises, it protects against money losing worth. This is especially true when the US dollar weakens, a trend seen after the 1971 Bretton Woods Agreement.

Experts suggest allocating 10–20% of your investment in gold. This is to shield your money from market ups and downs, changes in currency value, and the risk of inflation. By spreading your investments, you help protect your savings. It lessens the impact of currency drops and inflation.

To sum up, gold’s long-term growth, its role in fighting inflation, and its risk-reducing benefits are key. Including gold in your investment plan can defend your wealth from inflation and market twists. This way, you keep the buying power of your money safe over the years.

Useful Links for Digital Gold Investors:

Website: Digital Gold Website
Whitepaper: Digital Gold Whitepaper (PDF)
ANN : Digital Gold ANN on Bitcointalk
Telegram: Digital Gold Telegram
Steemit: Digital Gold on Steemit
Reddit: Digital Gold on Reddit
YouTube: Digital Gold YouTube Channel

Author
Bitcointalk username: MetaTeraX1
Telegram username: @geligaJX66
Erc20 address: 0xf65E67C06f175D3Dc24a605DE8254AafCe56ce8A

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John McFerd

Crypto enthusiast since 2014, passionate writer, and involved in various crypto projects.