For years, I wouldn’t make a huge commitment to gold… I only held a small amount in my portfolio as insurance.

But in early April, I saw a catalyst coming that would push gold to all-time highs. So I recommended my Palm Beach Letter subscribers buy three gold stocks. (Paid-up subscribers can read the April issue right here.)

You see, governments across the world began cranking up their “printing presses” to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re spending unprecedented amounts of cash to rescue their economies.

I knew this money-printing would lower what we call “real rates.” And when real rates fall, gold prices zoom higher.

So far, my thesis has held up. Since April, gold is up 14%. And it’s trading near its all-time highs, at $1,810 per ounce.

But any sector entering a bull market will attract fraud. We’ve seen that in cannabis, crypto, and stocks. And now, we’re seeing it in gold…

Just last month, a Chinese company called Kingold Jewelry allegedly used fake gold bars to defraud investors out of $2.8 billion.

Chinese officials accused Kingold of passing off 83 tonnes of gold-plated copper as real bullion. If the bars had been real, they’d be worth $4.5 billion.

Kingold isn’t some fly-by-night operation, either. It’s a Nasdaq-listed company.

Friends, this could be the largest gold scam in modern history…

But I’m not telling you this story to scare you out of your gold positions. Based on my research, gold could reach $15,000 from today’s prices, if real rates continue to fall.

I’m telling you this story because I want you to protect your gold holdings…

Three Steps to Avoid Fool’s Gold

The demand for gold has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Many gold coins are selling out, including American Eagles. These are some of the most popular and widely circulated bullion coins used for investing.

I haven’t seen this much excitement in the gold space since 2011, when gold passed $1,900.

But when you see this type of frenzy, you need to protect your assets.

Of course, you can certainly buy physical gold bullion and store it yourself. But there are a couple of issues with that.

Most investors…

  • Don’t know where to buy gold bullion.

  • Don’t know how to store gold bullion.

  • And most importantly, don’t know how to tell real gold from fake gold.

So if you decide to buy gold coins or bullion, you’ll need to make sure you’re purchasing them from a reputable broker – so you don’t get ripped off.

Another problem with buying gold yourself is that gold coins often sell at a premium to the quoted price of gold. And that’s counterproductive.

Unless you’re a rare coin collector… you just want gold in the event of a crisis.

Now, if you do buy gold coins, you need to be careful where you store them, as you risk accidental loss or theft…

If you don’t want to own physical gold, you can own it through a gold fund. They’re more convenient than buying physical gold.

Problem is, if you buy a gold fund, you don’t really own gold. You own an “IOU” for a future gold payment. And your IOU writer may – or may not – still be in business if a currency crisis actually hits.

As you can see, there are complications with owning physical gold or gold funds.

Fortunately, I’ve found an easier – and more secure – way for you to hedge against a currency crisis.

Digital Gold

If real rates continue to fall due to central bank money-printing, we’ll see a gold bull market for the ages.

But if you want to hedge against a crisis, I encourage you to put some of your gold allocation into bitcoin.

Like gold, you can’t “print” more bitcoin. Its supply is fixed by computer code. But unlike gold (or fiat currencies like the dollar), you can’t counterfeit bitcoin.

Once you write data onto the bitcoin blockchain, it’s there forever. It can’t be tampered with. Each bitcoin has its own unique cryptographic identity. So it’s immutable.

You can never counterfeit bitcoin. That feature, among many others (such as easy portability, divisibility, and ease of sending and receiving), is all part of what gives bitcoin its value.

Despite its recent sideways trading action, bitcoin is still outperforming gold year-to-date.

Gold is up 19% since January. Meanwhile, bitcoin is up nearly 30% in the same time frame.

So if you buy physical gold, make sure to find a reputable dealer so you don’t get scammed. Or consider buying a gold fund like the Perth Mint Physical Gold ETF (AAAU). It’ll give you direct exposure to gold with the added ability of taking actual possession of your gold, if you ever desire to do so.

And don’t forget to set aside some of your gold allocation to bitcoin.

Remember, even a small allocation can make a difference. Cryptos offer you a chance to make asymmetric bets. So you only need to invest a tiny stake to have a chance at life-changing gains.

Let the Game Come to You!

Teeka Tiwari
Editor, Palm Beach Daily

P.S. As I mentioned above, cryptos offer you a chance at life-changing gains. And I believe crypto’s underlying blockchain tech will be the best-performing investment idea of the decade.

Not only is it the backbone of bitcoin, it’s also disrupting industries from finance to supply chains to health care.

In fact, I’ve put together a special presentation to pull back the curtain on this trend. I firmly believe it will be the No. 1 investment of the 2020s…