China has reported the largest gold find in its history. While the discovery is being closely watched, the crypto scene is drawing a new point of comparison to the limited Bitcoin supply. Values in this article
• China has discovered approximately 1,444 tons of gold in Liaoning province.
• It is the country’s largest gold find since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.
• The market value is estimated at over 160 billion euros.
The largest gold find since the founding of the People’s Republic
China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has confirmed the discovery of the Dadonggou deposit in Liaoning province, Euronews reports. This is the country’s largest single gold find since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. The deposit is estimated to contain 2.586 million tons of ore with an average gold content of 0.56 grams per ton, totaling approximately 1,444 tons of gold .
The state-owned Liaoning Geological and Mining Group completed exploration with nearly 1,000 technicians and workers in just 15 months—an unusually short timeframe for a deposit of this size. The exact location of the discovery site has not been disclosed, sparking speculation about strategic considerations behind the limited disclosure.
Limited short-term impact on the gold price
Despite the enormous size of the find, the short-term impact on the gold price is likely to remain manageable. As BTC -ECHO explains, the precious metal still needs to be mined – in the commodities sector, many years typically pass between discovery and ongoing production. Even in China, where the government is pushing ahead with the development of a gold cluster in the region, this is a medium- to long-term project.
Furthermore, according to BTC-ECHO, the magnitude of the discovery is put into perspective when viewed within the context of the global gold market: To date, over 216,000 tons of gold have been mined worldwide, with annual mine production at around 3,600 to 3,700 tons – meaning the find represents significantly less than one percent of total above-ground reserves. The gold price is therefore likely to continue reacting more strongly to real interest rates , central bank demand, and geopolitical risks than to the minimal increase in reserves.
Physical versus programmed scarcity: The Bitcoin argument
For Bitcoin proponents, however, the discovery illustrates a fundamental difference between the two asset classes. As BTC-ECHO points out, the price of gold could be driven down in the long term by massive discoveries or technological advances in extraction – moreover, higher prices increase the incentives for gold mining.
In contrast, Bitcoin’s supply mechanism is predetermined: The protocol limits the maximum supply to 21 million BTC, and the emission path is fixed by regular halvings and transparently visible to everyone. New Bitcoins are created exclusively through mining within these rules. However, Bitcoin is not without risks – for example, there is discussion about whether the 21 million BTC limit could be adjusted in the long term due to the so-called security budget problem. Which asset class ultimately proves more resilient remains to be seen.





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