When gold can be synthesized, will Bitcoin take over humanity's value belief?

The American startup Marathon Fusion recently announced that they are developing a technology that combines nuclear fusion and nuclear transmutation to convert mercury into gold. Although it is not yet commercially viable, if the technology matures and scales up, it could potentially rewrite the scarcity properties and market role of gold, triggering a significant migration of global safe-haven assets and store-of-value tools. At this time, Bitcoin may be standing on the threshold of history, ready to take on the role that belongs to gold.

If gold can be synthesized in large quantities, the myth of its scarcity will be overturned.

The technical concept of Marathon Fusion is to transform mercury-198 into mercury-197 through the collision of high-speed neutrons in nuclear fusion reactions, which ultimately decays into stable gold-197. If each fusion power plant can produce 11,000 pounds of gold annually, establishing a hundred power plants globally would add 500 tons of gold each year, increasing the supply by nearly 16%. This would significantly depress gold prices and weaken the appeal of gold as a safe haven and its trust base as a store of value.

The characteristics and narrative of Bitcoin become potential successors.

Compared to gold, Bitcoin has characteristics such as a supply cap written in code (21 million coins), being non-reproducible, verifiable, and capable of cross-border circulation. Once the market begins to doubt the scarcity of gold, Bitcoin's "digital scarcity" will become more attractive and strengthen its role as a store of value.

The flow of funds may change, with institutions and sovereign funds paying attention to digital reserve assets.

If there is a crisis of confidence in global gold assets, some funds may shift towards Bitcoin spot ETFs or long-term allocation funds. If only 10% of the gold investment assets (about $1 trillion) move to Bitcoin, it will create a price push in the fixed supply Bitcoin market that is several times leveraged, and may also prompt central banks or sovereign funds to rethink the role of digital assets in reserves.

Gold is not just a metal, but a container of history and civilization.

However, the value of gold goes beyond scarcity and practicality. Since ancient times, it has carried the power of empires, the symbols of civilization, and the trust in institutions, serving as a crystallization of thousands of years of human currency and authority history. From the gold masks of pharaohs, Roman coins, to the reserves of modern central banks, gold is an "anchor point of collective memory."

Nuclear fusion may be able to create gold, but it cannot recreate the historical weight behind it.

Bitcoin is writing its own story of civilization.

Bitcoin, though young, is accumulating its own culture and beliefs:

Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper became the "Genesis Document" of the digital age.

The block height records its every segment of history;

The applications in war, the incorporation into capital markets, and the strengthening of anti-inflation narratives are all paving the way for its entry into the context of civilization.

The next medium of trust for humanity may be digital rather than metal.

Gold stores the past of humanity, while Bitcoin may be storing humanity's imagination of future value.

If the scarcity of gold is ultimately subverted by technology, we may turn to find that digital new anchor point which still cannot be replicated, can transcend the ages, and carries faith. And Bitcoin is being redefined at this historical juncture of value transfer.

This article discusses whether Bitcoin will take over humanity's belief in value when gold can be synthesized. It first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.