A new survey of 1,500 Americans between the ages of 18 and 65+ examines whether they would choose gold or Bitcoin as an investment that couldn't be cashed out for 10 years. The study was commissioned by Gold IRA Guide, a renowned online publication that specializes in helping retirees diversify their portfolios with alternative assets such as precious metals, cryptocurrencies, annuities, real estate and others.

Survey Question & Findings

The survey asked 1,500 Americans the following question:

If someone offered to give you $10,000 worth of either Gold or Bitcoin that you couldn't cash out for 10 years, what would you choose?

• Gold

• Bitcoin

According to the findings of the survey, when asked between the two, which they would choose $10,000 worth of that could not be touched for a decade, 84.3% of all respondents stated that they would take the $10,000 in gold.

Yellow metal still shines bright for the elderly

The most compelling results occurred when demographic filters were applied to reflect older age brackets, as the percentage increased even further with older demographics. Amongst 45 to 54 year-olds, it was 85.8%, 87.5% for 55 to 64 year-olds, and an astounding 91.3% of 65+ respondents said they would choose the option of $10,000 worth of gold.

This overwhelming response towards the selection of gold rather than Bitcoin is unsurprising, considering that gold has been universally accepted and dependable investment option for thousands of years.

Younger audience warmer towards Cryptocurrencies

The survey results become equally as intriguing with regards to the Bitcoin option. Only 15.7% of respondents indicated that they would take $10,000 worth of Bitcoin, which couldn't be cashed out for a decade. However, when demographic results were applied to reflect a younger age bracket, 22% of 18 to 34 year-olds stated that they would opt for the $10,000 in Bitcoin. Additionally, when demographic filters were further applied to those between 25 and 34 years old, it increased to 23.9%, and 24.1% with specifically females between 25-34.

Although Bitcoin is the far more volatile and speculative investment choice compared to gold, given its rising popularity and increased price, the cryptocurrency could potentially prove to be more rewarding in the future.

"Although the survey results show that gold wins by a landslide, it is interesting to see how younger people seem to be a bit more inclined towards Bitcoin than their older counterparts, when given the option," stated Mark Turner, head editor at Gold IRA Guide.

The overall conclusion of the survey is that despite the fact that gold was the irrefutable investment choice for American investors, younger investors seem to be warming to the idea of investing in Bitcoin in increasing numbers. With nearly a quarter of all respondents between 25 and 34 choosing the cryptocurrency over gold, that certainly provides some very interesting results.