President James Garfield once said…

“He who controls the money supply of a nation controls the nation.”

Who then, Mr. Garfield, controls the money supply of Bitcoin?

Because if such a person existed — an invisible hand that controls everything — then that person would have the entire world in a stranglehold.

Fortunately, there is no god of Bitcoin.

In its purest form, Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency.

That is, no single user — or Bitcoin miner, for that matter — enjoys power over another.

In a decentralized system, like Bitcoin, there is no head of the snake.

“Decentralized systems are a hydra. Cut off one head and two more pop in to take its place,” says author Daniel Jeffries.

As long as you have an internet connection…

Bitcoin allows you to bask in the glory of a borderless currency — one that lies far beyond the reach of any single government or dictator.

But its decentralized nature is only one reason for our current love affair.

Here are five more reasons that Bitcoin has real staying power.

Reason #1: Better Than Gold

Once a person has accumulated wealth, security becomes a big deal.

Dollars lose value to inflation. Stocks are risky. Bonds are risky.

And for the safety-minded investor, Bitcoin has real staying power:

To hedge against inflation, most people look to gold as a haven for their wealth.

After all, it’s served as a store of value for people for centuries.

Right now, $1 Million will buy you about fifty pounds of gold at $1,319 per ounce.

Sure, you could easily bury that loot in the backyard for a rainy day.

But in an emergency where you have to — say, evacuate your home in a hurry — that fifty pounds of gold becomes a heavy burden quick.

On the other hand, Bitcoin is weightless and is stored eternally on the blockchain.