Ardoino said Bitcoin is still at an early stage of adoption compared with gold, whose role as a store of value and reserve asset has been embedded in financial systems for centuries. He said many senior policymakers, bankers and institutional investors are more familiar with gold and therefore more willing to rely on it during periods of financial stress.
“The majority of the decision makers in this world are above 60 years old,” Ardoino said in an interview circulated this week. He added that Bitcoin “does not have the penetration that gold does”, because the cryptocurrency is far younger and is better understood among younger generations.
Ardoino said broader acceptance of Bitcoin as a currency or reserve asset may depend partly on generational change. He argued that younger investors are generally more comfortable with digital assets, while older financial leaders tend to favour instruments whose behaviour, custody arrangements and historical role they already understand.
His comments come as gold retains a powerful position in official reserves and private portfolios despite Bitcoin’s growing institutional presence. The World Gold Council said in June that 93 per cent of central-bank respondents held gold, while 89 per cent expected global official gold holdings to rise over the following 12 months. A record 45 per cent expected their own institutions to increase allocations.
Central-bank demand has also remained substantial. The council estimated net purchases of 289 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, taking first-half demand to 345 tonnes. Poland was the largest reported buyer in the period, while China continued to add to its reserves.
Gold’s appeal has been reinforced by geopolitical uncertainty, inflation concerns and demand for reserve diversification. Spot gold traded around $4,419 an ounce on Friday after reaching record levels earlier in the year, while Bitcoin was changing hands near $80,000 after briefly climbing above $82,000.
Bitcoin has nevertheless made significant gains in mainstream finance. Regulated exchange-traded products have expanded access for investors, large companies hold the cryptocurrency on their balance sheets, and financial institutions have developed custody, trading and settlement services around the asset.
Ardoino, however, drew a distinction between growing investment access and the deeper level of trust required for an asset to function as a widely accepted reserve. He described gold as the premier asset used to protect wealth against severe monetary or financial disruption and pointed to continued central-bank purchases as evidence of that preference.
Tether itself has increased exposure to both assets. The company, best known for issuing the USDT dollar-linked stablecoin, has built one of the largest private gold holdings outside the banking and official sectors. Ardoino said earlier this year that Tether aimed to allocate roughly 10 to 15 per cent of its investment portfolio to physical gold and was buying about one to two tonnes a week.
The company also holds Bitcoin as part of its reserves and investment strategy. Ardoino has repeatedly argued that both Bitcoin and gold can serve as protection against currency debasement, while maintaining that the two assets occupy different positions in the financial system.
Tether has also expanded its gold-backed digital business through Tether Gold, or XAU₮. The company said customer holdings of the token rose 9.5 per cent during the second quarter, even as gold prices fell sharply from first-quarter highs. Each token represents ownership of physical gold held in Switzerland.
Ardoino said the continued demand for tokenised gold illustrated the advantage of combining an established safe-haven asset with blockchain-based transfer and ownership. Tether has also invested in gold-related businesses and has sought to make physical bullion easier to buy and move through digital channels.
Arabian Post – Crypto News Network
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