Analysts at JPMorgan say bitcoin (BTC) will benefit at the expense of gold.

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) analysts issued a note on Friday that said millennials’ preference for cryptocurrency over gold could lend a bullish tailwind to bitcoin in the coming years. Millennials would constitute an important segment of the investment fraternity and that could tip the scales in favor of BTC versus the yellow metal. (MARKETS INSIDER)

Bitcoin playing catch-up with gold?

While the physical gold market commands a value of $2.6 trillion including ETFs, bitcoin is only a tiny fraction of that. (The market cap of BTC is just $243 billion, according to Bitcoin.com).

“The potential long-term upside for bitcoin is considerable as it competes more intensely with gold as an ‘alternative’ currency we believe, given that Millenials would become over time a more important component of investors’ universe,” JPMorgan wrote in their analysis.

“Even a modest crowding out of gold as an ‘alternative’ currency over the longer term would imply doubling or tripling of the bitcoin price,” the analysts said.

To reach the equivalent of the gold market, bitcoin would have to surge more than 10X from its current price levels.

Adoption too could work in favor of BTC

JPM also said that in the long run, there could be more new use cases for bitcoin – beyond its restricted role as a store of value similar to gold.

Rising crypto adoption could, therefore, add to BTC’s allure compared to the precious metal.

“The more economic agents accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in the future, the higher their utility and value,” JPMorgan said.

Meanwhile, Raoul Pal says gold breaking down

Bitcoin has been on a roll in recent weeks, with Square’s $50 million investment and PayPal’s move to integrate the cryptocurrency into its platform.

Technically, the crypto gave a powerful buy signal when it cleared the $12,000 level on high volume.

Coin Telegraph quoted Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal’s tweet as follows:

“Gold is breaking down versus bitcoin, as expected cc: @michael_saylor Everyone take note. The next thing I’m expecting is the correlations between BTC and the dollar and BTC vs equities to break down too… let’s see. #Bitcoin.”

Related Story:  “Front-Running Opportunity Of A Lifetime” (Raoul Pal)