Bitgold launched recently, with an innovative new product.

They have built a platform which provides incredibly fast gold buying (yes they accept bitcoin) with a transactional network, aiming to give you the power of a debit card with gold as the unit of account in the near future.

Based in Canada and Italy, setting up an account takes minutes, provide a photocopy/scan of your ID and you are set to purchase gold. Choose from storage in one or more of 6 vaults worldwide.

The traction Bitgold have made in the industry is two-part:

They have managed to acquire legal jurisdiction of many different countries and are supported by Brink’s bank, the world’s largest gold bank which operates as their clearing house.

They have developed their own software which allows for “quick settlement of independent-physical gold trades so that a users’ gold is easily acquired and accessible across various payment networks.” – Roy Seabag.

These developments give Bitgold a massive advantage over existing services, they are trusted, with all deposits insured with the largest gold bank in the world. Culminating this with their own internal system to facilitate instant payments and transfers of gold, combined with a debit card, you can now use gold to pay for a cup of coffee or any daily transaction.

Gold can now be used for transactions of any size, a fantastic empowerment to people; bitcoin enthusiasts can now diversify their savings into one of the historically best stores of value in the world without a fiat middle man. They aim to implement bitcoin redemption for your gold deposits soon, a perfect utility for bitcoin hedging.

Bitgold also provides gold delivery in denominations as small as 10g (around $500 AUD), so if you’re not comfortable with storing your gold in a bank you have the ability to store it at home for the price of shipping.

As many Bitcoin enthusiasts know, gold and bitcoin hold many similarities. Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital version of gold” and now you can be exposed to both within 10 minutes.

One of the best things about Bitcoin is its speed of transferability, you can buy and sell things in seconds with no hidden fees, now you can diversify your savings into gold just as easily.

Here’s how you buy gold at Bitgold with Bitcoin:

Open an account and verify your identity. Choose your vault and create an order in Bitcoin. Scan the QR code with your bitcoin wallet. You order is now being processed and shortly confirmed. (Transaction cost is 1%)

(An example of an order for 1 bitcoin worth of gold)

In my experience, this process takes about an hour to process your transfer from bitcoin to gold. A fantastic way to diversify your portfolio without having to use fiat as a middle-man, an excellent addition to the Bitcoin ecosystem and a fantastic untility for gold bugs.