A claim has emerged that bitcoin already functions as money and could, over time, become less volatile than gold and even surpass it in market value.

On Oct. 14, blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that Saifedean Ammous (사이페딘 아모우스), author of "The Bitcoin Standard", pushed back against arguments challenging bitcoin’s payment utility and monetary nature.

The key issue is how to view bitcoin’s current use. Ammous argued that bitcoin not being widely used for payments does not mean it has failed as money. "Holding bitcoin itself is using bitcoin as money," he said. "The fact that it is not widely used as a means of payment is not evidence that monetisation is not progressing," he added.

He said bitcoin could also function as a medium of exchange once it matures, becomes less volatile than gold and surpasses gold’s market capitalisation. He also argued that claims that volatility constrains its role as a medium of exchange will weaken over time.

The remarks were largely framed as a response to criticism from Professor Lawrence H. White. White cited his book, "Better Money: Gold, Fiat Money, Bitcoin?", arguing that bitcoin’s supply is fixed, so it cannot respond to changes in demand, resulting in excessively high price volatility. He also claimed that this structure has led stablecoins to overtake bitcoin in trading volume.

The dispute between the two sides boils down to where bitcoin’s monetary function should be placed. White emphasised its role as a stable payment instrument, while Ammous viewed holding it as a store of value as already a monetary use. This has again highlighted differing interpretations over whether bitcoin’s fixed-supply structure is a weakness or a mechanism that strengthens long-term scarcity.

In terms of market size, the gap with gold remains significant. Bitcoin’s current market capitalisation is around $1.6 trillion, while gold is about $29 trillion. For bitcoin to rise as a leading global asset, it would need to grow by at least 18 times from current levels.

Still, forecasts in the industry that bitcoin can compete with gold over the long term have continued. Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch, previously presented an internal forecast in May 2025 that bitcoin’s price could reach $1 million by 2029. In that case, bitcoin’s market capitalisation would reach a level similar to gold’s.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back (아담 백) also forecast in April 2025 that bitcoin would begin to compete with demand for gold as a currency hedge, against a backdrop of global financial instability and rising fiat currency inflation. Against that backdrop, the latest exchange has continued into a debate over whether bitcoin is strengthening its monetary characteristics first as a store of value before becoming established as a means of payment, and whether volatility can actually fall in that process.

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