A move to put U.S. gold reserves on the blockchain could ultimately benefit Bitcoin, despite the fundamental differences between the two assets, according to Greg Cipolaro, Global Head of Research at New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).In a research note published on March 21, Cipolaro weighed in on proposals by Trump administration officials and Elon Musk to use blockchain technology for tracking U.S. gold holdings and government spending. While Cipolaro acknowledged that such a system would still rely heavily on centralized entities—unlike Bitcoin’s decentralized and trustless model—he argued that increased blockchain use could inadvertently benefit the leading cryptocurrency.“Tokenizing gold reserves doesn’t replace Bitcoin. It may not even solve trust. But it raises awareness—and that helps Bitcoin,” said Cipolaro.He explained that blockchains are inherently limited in what they can represent. “Bitcoin has no idea what the price of Bitcoin is or even the current time,” he noted, emphasizing that systems tracking physical assets like gold would still depend on intermediaries for accuracy and validation.Political Push for Transparency at Fort KnoxThe renewed interest in auditing the U.S. gold reserves gained momentum after Republican Senator Rand Paul called for a deeper investigation into the nation’s gold holdings at Fort Knox. The move aligns with Trump and Musk’s long-standing skepticism regarding whether all the gold is truly present—a conspiracy theory that has persisted for decades.While the U.S. Mint publishes monthly reports and claims that Fort Knox undergoes annual audits, independent inspections have been rare. The vault was last opened to outsiders in 2017 for then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and before that in 1974.Not a Threat, But a Complement to CryptoCipolaro stressed that efforts to tokenize gold are not a threat to Bitcoin. Instead, they may act as a bridge to crypto awareness. “Unlike tokenized gold, Bitcoin eliminates the need for trust. But blockchain-based transparency initiatives can still draw public attention to decentralized alternatives,” he said.As gold tokenization discussions resurface, NYDIG believes the increasing intersection between traditional assets and blockchain may push more users to explore Bitcoin’s unique value proposition—particularly its role as a non-sovereign store of value, according to Cointelegraph.
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