Bitcoin over gold: Can the largest digital currency rival bullion one day?

The digital currency is a trading ground for a motley crew of retail players, speculative pros and exotic quants, while traditional investors have hitherto stayed on the sidelines

Bitcoin has shot to a record just as billions of institutional dollars have fled gold.

Whether that’s a simple coincidence or the start of a rotation that would have a profound impact on crypto and the precious-metals market is impossible to know for sure. But the debate is now heating up on whether the world’s largest digital currency can one day rival bullion as an inflation hedge and portfolio diversifier.

Bitcoin’s tumble last week, the biggest since March, after a 150% run-up this year underscores the famous volatility of the asset class that has kept mainstream investors at bay. Yet if they