To be fair, bitcoin won't easily surpass gold because gold is an asset that has been used for thousands of years, through many wars, great recessions, economic crises, pandemics...It showed the world its potential and the world had complete faith in it without any doubt. Meanwhile, let's see how the world is treating bitcoin? Many people don't even know or care about it, and policies related to it are still controversial among politicians or central banks...How can it surpass gold in the near future with those?
Just because we are bitcoin investors and biased towards it, but if we dare to face the reality, bitcoin cannot even surpass gold in this century.
But you're right, whether it beats gold or not, it's still a successful asset.
You could apply the same argument to silver — bitcoin has surpassed it in less than two decades of existence. I would bet that you don't hold much bitcoin. After all, someone who thinks bitcoin won't surpass gold this century is pretty pessimistic, and you're not going to invest much in an asset you're pessimistic about.
Although both are metals, you need to know that silver can never be compared to gold, both are not in the same class and gold is in a higher class. Have you seen anyone calling silver a safe haven, central banks buying silver like they buy gold?...Silver is a valuable metal and is used in many industries...but it cannot compare to gold.
Comparing bitcoin to silver is like we are underestimating the potential and value of bitcoin, and that is why I never compare bitcoin to silver.
Instead of calling it pessimism. I consider myself a realistic person, not fond of illusions, dreams or exaggerations.