I would buy gold as an insurance against an economic crisis. In an economic crisis, drastic measurements by the government seem likely. For example recently in

I would buy gold as an insurance against an economic crisis. In an economic crisis, drastic measurements by the government seem likely. For example recently in Greece the exact thing happened that people always worry about: home ownership was suddenly being heavily taxed, because those house owners have little way to hide their assets. In general governments try to prevent the population from using alternative currencies (usually it is illegal). So if in an economic crisis gold would become too much of a live currency, countermeasures by the government seem very likely.