<span class="dropcap dropcap-simple">B</span>itcoin cash, the cryptocurrency that split off from bitcoin earlier this year, jumped against the dollar on Friday. Investors have cash to burn right now, and based on the astronomical performance of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, that's where a lot of it is getting funneled.

This is coming at the expense of gold, says Tom Lee, the managing partner and head of research at Fundstrat <a href="#">Global Advisors</a>. In fact, he thinks that the growing preference for the cryptocurrencies over gold is actually helping contribute to the torrid gains in the fledgling products.

One main factor driving demand for cryptocurrencies is the reduction in supply that's been seen in recent months, according to Lee. He notes that the rate of bitcoin units added has been more than halved over the past year, to 4.4% from 9.3%. With mining slowing down, bitcoin won't reach its theoretical maximum number of units until 2045 or later.

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Meanwhile, Lee finds that gold production has risen "sharply" since 2009, and now sits at 3,100 metric tons, the highest on record. Meanwhile, Lee finds that gold production has risen "sharply" since 2009, and now sits at 3,100 metric tons, the highest on record.

Fundstrat's base case calls for the cryptocurrency to expand eight to roughly $20,000 per unit by 2022. But in the most bullish scenario, bitcoin could reach as high as <span style="color: #cc3a4b;">$55,000</span> over the same period. "Our model shows gold’s value being relatively static against a rise in bitcoin," Lee says. One potential wild card that may speed up investor allocation into cryptocurrencies could be buying by central banks.

"Already central banks have looked into this possibility," Lee says. "In our view, this is a game changer, enhancing the legitimacy of the currency and likely accelerating the substitution for gold."



Investors have cash to burn right now, and based on the astronomical performance of crypto currencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, that's where a lot of it is getting funneled.

SegWit2x was intended to speed up transactions on bitcoin's network, but not enough partic ipants agreed on the proposal, and its implementation risked splitting the network again. As a result, the project was abandoned Wednesday.

Joshua Raymond, a director at the foreign-exchange and CFD broker XTB, told Business Insider: "The delay to Segwit2x has damaged confidence amongst bitcoin investors concerning the much-needed resolution to speed up bitcoin's slow processing speed.

Mati Greenspan, an analyst with the trading platform eToro, said: "After the 2x hard fork was called off, BCH is now being seen as a favourite to one day replace BTC. If the Bitcoin community doesn't come to a consensus about how to scale the network soon, it may run into congestion, in which case people will need an alternative."

Investors have cash to burn right now, and based on the astronomical performance of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, that's where a lot of it is getting funneled. SegWit2x was intended to speed up transactions on bitcoin's network, but not enough participants agreed on the proposal, and its implementation risked splitting the network again. As a result, the project was abandoned Wednesday.