Digital Gold Has Been Outperforming It’s Tangible Counterpart as of Late

Bitcoin’s status as digital gold may not have held up well during the height of the March sell-offs in equities, but it’s starting to make a rally that’s outdoing its more tangible precious metal counterpart—gold.

Last week, Bitcoin was up as much as 12%, rising above the $10,000 mark before retreating over the weekend. However, with “the halving” event set for later this month, Bitcoin bulls are expecting more gains ahead.

“Bitcoin and gold have now returned to their pre-crash valuations, but Bitcoin’s more dramatic swing means that anyone who bought the dip in March—when Bitcoin was at its lowest—would’ve seen more than a 100% return by now,” a Decrypt report noted.

If Bitcoin isn’t an option for investors, then they can still turn to gold exposure via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the popular SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD)  and the more cost-effective SPDR Gold MiniShares (NYSEArca: GLDM). Precious metals like gold offer investors an alternative to diversify their holdings, and like other commodities, gold will march to the beat of its own drum compared to the broader market.

n addition to GLD and GLDM, here are a pair of other gold funds to look at:

1. iShares Gold Trust (IAU): seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold. The advisor intends to constitute a simple and cost-effective means of making an investment similar to an investment in gold. An investment in physical gold requires expensive and sometimes complicated arrangements in connection with the assay, transportation, warehousing, and insurance of the metal.
2. Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust (SGOL): seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trust’s expenses. The Shares are intended to constitute a simple and cost-effective means of making an investment similar to an investment in gold. An investment in physical gold requires expensive and sometimes complicated arrangements in connection with the assay, transportation, warehousing, and insurance of the metal. Although the Shares are not the exact equivalent of an investment in gold, they provide investors with an alternative that allows a level of participation in the gold market through the securities market.

For short-term traders looking for leverage can use miners to play gold indirectly via funds like the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: NUGT), VanEck Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDX)  and the Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: JNUG).

For more market trends, visit ETF Trends.