Marion Laboure is a senior economist at Deutsche Bank and a market strategist. She stated that Bitcoin (the world’s most traded cryptocurrency) has the potential to become 21st century digital gold.

She suggested that Ethereum could be compared to ‘digital gold’.

Laboure stated that he could see Bitcoin becoming the 21st century’s digital gold. He also said that gold is historically volatile. “But it is important that you remember that Bitcoin is volatile and cannot be trusted as a store of value. It will likely remain volatile in the future.

Laboure identified three causes for this volatility. It has limited tradability. Second, around two-thirds is used for speculation and investment. Third, Bitcoin’s volatility fluctuates based on the perceptions of its value by investors.

The Harvard finance lecturer stated that crypto’s market capitalization made it ‘too important not to ignore’, but that the industry currently faces a lack regulation and poor environmental record. She cited the increasing annual electricity consumption as an example. This is approximately equivalent to the annual electricity consumption in Pakistan, the fifth largest country in the world and home to over 200 million people.

Laboure cautioned new investors that Bitcoin was a finite currency with a cap of 21 million. Nearly 90% of this supply is already in circulation.

She isn’t surprised Bitcoin has been so popular and believes that cryptocurrency and cash will co-exist over the long-term.

Laboure stated that people have always sought assets that weren’t controlled by governments. “Cash will not disappear. But we expect it to decrease as a method of payment.