What do you mean "dysfunctional metal"? One of the reasons why gold is keeping its value is exactly because IT IS functional metal, it has practical use. With all these new options of investing, one could think gold will lose value because it became less attractive compared to stocks and cryptocurrencies. However gold's price is relatively stable and safe investment because it has practical use. In the US, the amount of gold used in electronics is almost the same as in jewelry. And industry of electronics will only become bigger and bigger so demand for gold will increase over time.