Expert warns lab-grown gold could eliminate scarcity and drive investors to bitcoin
Lab-made gold threatens traditional value
Ran Neuner, CNBC crypto analyst and trader, has ignited a new wave of debate in the financial world after issuing a sharp warning about gold’s future.
In a recent post on the X platform, Neuner stated that scientists are now capable of recreating gold in laboratory conditions, potentially undermining its traditional value as a scarce asset.
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“This is really bad for gold,” Neuner wrote.
He emphasized that once people realize lab-grown gold is indistinguishable from natural gold, there will be a massive shift toward bitcoin.
Comparison with the diamond market
Neuner likened the current situation to the transformation in the diamond industry, which experienced a significant drop in prices after lab-grown diamonds entered the market. These stones became indistinguishable from natural diamonds—even under magnification—yet were much cheaper.
Changing investment strategies
The ability to synthesize gold coincides with shifting investor behavior. According to JPMorgan, the traditional “debasement trade”—where investors hedge against fiat currency devaluation by holding gold and bitcoin—has turned into a zero-sum game.
Since April, gold prices have dropped nearly 8%, while bitcoin has gained 18%. Investors are pulling funds from gold ETFs and redirecting them into spot bitcoin funds. Futures data supports the trend: net long positions in gold are declining, while interest in bitcoin continues to rise.
Bitcoin’s rise as “digital gold”
This transition reflects a broader shift in market sentiment, driven by geopolitical instability and changing expectations around interest rate policy. Bitcoin is increasingly being perceived as digital gold and is gaining institutional support. If synthetic gold becomes widely accepted and breaks the myth of the metal’s scarcity, bitcoin could fully establish itself as the dominant safe-haven asset.
