Bitcoin has reached an impressive milestone as earlier this week the popular cryptocurrency became more valuable than gold for the first time ever.At the end of Thursday, the blockchain-powered currency topped off gold, hitting the price of $1,268 for a single unit of Bitcoin compared to $1,233 for a troy ounce of gold, BBC reports.Recovering from a massive drop to $200 per unit in mid-2015, Bitcoin has experienced a rather significant surge throughout the latter part of 2016 and early 2017 so far.Gold on the other hand has circled around the $1,200 price point for a while now, with some sporadic hikes and drops here and there.CoinDesk has made a nifty price comparison chart to demonstrate how the values of these two compare over the last three years: /cGH9E3al72 — CoinDesk (@coindesk) March 2, 2017 Earlier this year the cryptocurrency made headlines when it surpassed $1,000 for the first time since 2013.But while comparing two currencies seems rather reasonable, this particular correlation between Bitcoin and gold strikes me as odd, to say the least.

In this case, the value of one unit of the cryptocurrency was matched against the worth of one ounce of troy gold.But here’s the thing: this seems like a rather arbitrary comparison to draw.To put things into perspective, we’ve conducted some additional research into how the value of Bitcoin compares to some other elements, compounds… and substances.As metal pricing tool Metalary shows, there is no standard unit for estimating the worth of elements and compounds.The accepted measure for gold is troy ounce, which equals about 31 grams.Silver and platinum are similarly measured in troy ounces, with their respective prices being $17 and $1,015 – much less than Bitcoin.But who the fuck cares?If you are comparing the worth of the cryptocurrency to some arbitrary element or compound, you might as well compare the price compare the price of Bitcoin to some other exchangeable substance – like cocaine for example.The dynamite white powder – beloved by music icons like Rick James and tech pioneers like John McAfee alike – usually sells in grams, but we’ll measure it in troy ounces for the purpose of this comparison.

Even if it’s merely to demonstrate how random this sort of comparisons are.The 2015 edition of the Global Drug Survey suggests a gram of cocaine on average costs $220 in Australia and New Zealand, but it is significantly cheaper in European countries like the Netherlands and Portugal where you can find it for about $55 per gram.bitcoin growth mcapsTaking the median of these prices, the average price of cocaine is about $137 per gram.how to mine litecoin 2014This adds up to about $4,261 for a troy ounce.bitcoin esempioAssuming the infamous drug e-marketplace Silk Road (which used to carry out exchanges in the popular cryptocurrency) was still up, you’d have to pay almost three and a half Bitcoins to score a troy ounce of cocaine.naomi bitcoin

But we digress from our main point: comparing the worth of Bitcoin to gold sure makes for interesting dinner talk with some rich stuck-up douchebags – but the comparison ultimately remains utterly and completely arbitrary.Read next: Fake your way to art connoisseur with this 'Shazam for art' appbitcoin to doge exchangeAustralian tech entrepreneur Craig Wright has told the BBC he was the creator of controversial digital currency bitcoin after years of speculation about a person who until now has gone by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.bbc bitcoin 1000The BBC reported on Monday that Wright gave some technical proof demonstrating that he had access to blocks of bitcoins known to have been created by bitcoin’s creator.But he declined requests from The Economist to provide further proof that he was Nakamoto.“Our conclusion is that Mr Wright could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that important questions remain,” The Economist said.

“Indeed, it may never be possible to establish beyond reasonable doubt who really created bitcoin.” The BBC said prominent members of the bitcoin community had confirmed Wright’s claim.“I was the main part of it, but other people helped me,” the BBC quoted Wright as saying.In December, police raided Wright’s Sydney home and office after Wired magazine named him as the probable creator of bitcoin and holder of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency, which has attracted the interest of banks, speculators, criminals and regulators.The treatment of bitcoins for tax purposes in Australia has been the subject of considerable debate.The Australian Tax Office (ATO) ruled in December 2014 that cryptocurrency should be considered an asset, rather than a currency, for capital gains tax purposes.On Monday, the ATO said it had no comment while police were not immediately available for comment.In a blog post dated Monday, Wright appeared to out himself as bitcoin founder by posting a technical explanation, including examples of code, of the process by which he created the currency.

He thanks all those who had supported the project from its inception.“This incredible community’s passion and intellect and perseverance have taken my small contribution and nurtured it, enhanced it, breathed life into it,” he wrote.“You have given the world a great gift.Thank you.” However Wright did not make a clear admission that he was Nakamoto.“Satoshi is dead,” he said.“But this is only the beginning.” Unlike traditional currency, bitcoins are not distributed by a central bank or backed by physical assets like gold, but are “mined” by users who use computers to calculate increasingly complex algorithmic formulas.Bitcoin experts say that unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto would be significant for the industry.Not only would the proven founder likely hold some sway over the future of the bitcoin protocol, but Nakamoto may also hold enough bitcoin to influence its price.As an early miner of bitcoins, Nakamoto is sitting on about 1 million bitcoins, according to bitcoin expert Sergio Demian Lerner.