Agree totally, but it makes not a jot of difference to gold as a...

Agree totally, but it makes not a jot of difference to gold as a form of reserve, because regardless of whether it’s digital or physical, cash is a promissory note, and needs to be redeemed on demand. If there was ever a risk that the iou could not be redeemed, then holders will sell as quickly as possible. Just look at the Turkish lira, or the Zim dollar or the Venezuelan bolivar. On the other hand, strong reserves will mitigate that risk. And part of those reserves are allocated to gold. As to why gold is treated as a reserve asset, that’s an entirely different question and one that gold bears have never been able to get to grips with. I don’t know the answer either before you ask!