Cryptos 'Not a Substitute' for the Yellow Metal, Says World Gold Council

Cryptocurrencies are "No substitute for gold," according to the World Gold Council.

The WGC, a market development organization for the gold industry, published the report late last month, arguing that gold is "Very different" from cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin's price, on the other hand, the council said, has been "Extremely volatile - some 10 times that of the dollar denominated gold price." Therefore, it is not really a good as a currency, the WGC opined, "Let alone a store of value, potentially limiting bitcoin's use as a transaction token."

Bitcoin trading volumes are also "Very low" compared to gold and other currencies.

Giving the statistics, the WGC said, bitcoin trades $2 billion on an average per day - less than 1 percent of the total gold market's volume of approximately $250 billion per day.

The WGC said that gold demand is diverse, supply is "Responsive" and is a "Tried and tested effective" investment option in portfolios as a diversifier, as well as having performed well during periods of inflation.

Further, gold prices and demand are not showing any signs of suffering from crypto competition, the council said, adding that cryptocurrencies compete more between themselves, as there are now thousands of tokens available.

" performance has, until recently, been remarkable, but its purpose as an investment seems quite different from gold.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel argued last year that bitcoin is tantamount to digital gold.

"It's like bars of gold in a vault that never move," Thiel said.