Saw this video about gold, it’s chemical structure and malleability. I still don’t understand why gold is worth anything at all……
In: 236
You could ask the same about lithium and cobalt.
Why are they worth anything? Because we have practical applications for them in batteries.
The challenge is that we can’t dig up lithium or cobalt faster than we use them in industrial applications.
So if you were of a speculative mind, you would pay to buy some lithium and cobalt ore and store it while demand goes up. The price would go up and you would be able to sell it with a profit.
After a while, everyone would be keen on investing in lithium or cobalt, even if it meant storing them on shelves and not using them in industrial applications. Because everyone would agree that they are a good form of investment.
Countries would start stockpiling lithium and cobalt, and would use them in stead of cash to close transactions with other countries.
This is what happened with gold. It does have practical industrial applications, which we use 28% of the gold available for. But everyone agrees that gold is a good investment, so there is speculation on it and 29% sit on shelves in the shape of ingots and coins.
The remaining 43% are used in jewellery, because gold also offers practical applications there:
* It doesn’t tarnish
* It does not cause skin irritation
* It is easy to work on
* It can be recycled and re-sold
[Here’s how the world uses gold](https://finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/heres-world-uses-gold-165800968.html)
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