Decentralized: Bitcoin is more decentralized than gold. There are over 100,000 nodes all over the world verifying the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin miners and developers are all over the world as well. Gold mining is subject to the jurisdiction they are located in and the local government can easily impose controls over the gold output since it is physical in nature. The same cannot be easily said with bitcoin mining since bitcoin is digital and can be instantly secured from control or confiscation by third parties. Central banks and governments control the vast majority of the global gold supply. Gold needs a custodian, or third party, to transact globally. Gold requires trust. We know banks control the custodian game, and governments and banks are closely intertwined.

The rationale for coins is that “raw” gold is not a convenient medium of exchange. The weight and fineness of the amount of gold being offered in a transaction have to be verified, which can be time consuming and costly. These costs were reduced by governments establishing mints that produced coins of a known weight and fineness. In contrast, a bitcoin is a bitcoin. There are no differences in weights or fineness of different bitcoin. And payments and P2P transfers can be made with bitcoin without the intervention of any third-party.

Bitcoin fixes this drawback of centralization and demanding trust. Bitcoin transactions, clearance and final settlement do not need trust in a third party. It is a peer-to-peer monetary system.