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The price for a single bitcoin exceeded the price of an ounce of gold for the first time ever Thursday, but the digital currency isnt ready to join gold or silver as a reliable long term store of value, Paul Mladjenovic, author of Precious Metals Investing for Dummies, told MarketWatch.

I want to see a lot more stability and I want to see that [bitcoin] has the same characteristics of durability that gold and silver have had over not just years but centuries, Mladjenovic said in a Facebook Live interview.

The price of a single bitcoin US:BTCUSD rose to an all-time high of $1,251.32 on Thursday, according to CoinDesks bitcoin price index. April gold futures on Comex GCJ7, -1.39% changed hands at $1,233.20 an ounce, down 1.4% on the day. For the year to date, gold is up more than 7%, while bitcoin is up more than 25%.

See: Bitccoin is now worth more than ounce of gold for the first time ever

Some view the eight-year-old cryptocurrency as a proxy for gold and silver because of its limited supply, Mladjenovic said. But its relatively short record and volatile action mean it has yet to achieve the same status, he said, arguing that bitcoin remains a speculators market.

Bitcoin has been in rally mode since early 2015, boosted in part by increased Chinese demand. Recent gains have also been attributed to expectations the Securities and Exchange Commission could soon authorize the creation of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

The price of a single coin rose as high as $1,242 on some exchanges in late 2013 before the collapse of Mt. Gox, which was one of the largest digital currency exchanges. Bitcoin slumped to a low of $200 in the ensuing bear market.

Mladjenovic discussed a number of other topics related to gold and precious metals investing in the Facebook Live interview. He expects gold to rally amid a pickup in global inflation pressures. Watch the full interview here:

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Has bitcoin matched gold's status? One expert weighs in - MarketWatch