Bitcoin can replace gold in certain aspects, because it is more secure, said cryptography scientist and engineer Nick Szabo at the recent Bitcoin Investor Conference.

Gold is difficult to secure, claimed Szabo. Unlike gold, bitcoin is virtually unforgeable because it is secured by a code that can be kept in a computer, on a sheet of paper, or in one’s mind. “Bitcoin is distinct from the traditional financial system, which did not for the most part use the advanced principles of computer science. It provides a strong trust-minimized integrity, in other words a strong security for things like double-spending and forging,” Szabo said.

Bitcoin can be used as a reserve currency in the world of political distrust. A large part of the world’s gold is kept in the USA, while bitcoin isn’t connected with any state. Szabo claims that governments and central banks can find it safer to appeal to bitcoin or the cryptocurrency bitgold. “When political distrust rises, when wars break out, it’s going to be a lot more secure for them to be holding cryptocurrency than to be holding gold,” he noticed.

In an article published in 2008 Nick Szabo introduced bitgold, a precursor of bitcoin, based on the principle of unforgeable chains of proofs of work. The New York Times claims that there is evidence showing that, in fact, Nick Szabo is Satoshi Nakamoto – the inventor of bitcoin. However, Szabo himself denies this. Szabo recently took part in the Devcon 1 conference in London, where he spoke about the blockchain technology and smart contracts.

Andrew Levich