And a bitcoin is now worth $1,843

Unit of Bitcoin passed dollar value of one troy ounce of gold this year

With a 94 per cent year-to-date gain, and a single “coin” now worth $1,843, bitcoin has been on a helluva run lately.

 

The increase in the cost of the massively-volatile electronic tokens has led to many comparisons with that other favourite outsider “currency’’ — gold — recently.

 

True, a unit of Bitcoin passed the dollar value of one troy ounce of gold this year, and is now more than $600 higher.

 

But the daily swings in the digitally created asset have been vast. Even during the huge run up this year, it has moved more than five per cent on 21 different days, with nine of those being moves lower. Gold on the other hand, has been much more stable. 

 

Volatility aside, there is a major problem with gold as a comparator for the software-based unit.

 

Nobody thinks comparing one share of Apple Inc.  — current price around $155 — with one share of, for example, outdoor lighting company Acuity Brands Inc. — current price around $178 — is valid. It certainly does not show that Acuity (market cap $7.9 billion) is worth more than Apple (market cap $814 billion).