BitGold is a service that essentially digitizes gold, allowing people to buy and sell the precious metal within 1% of spot price. Once purchased, the gold is stored in one of the 10 Brink locations; deposits can be redeemed as 10g gold cubes of 1kg bars.
Also read: Bitcoin Mining vs. Gold Mining: a Comparison
BitGold allows users to send and receive gold for free, in a fashion similar to the way Bitcoin is transacted. Additionally, BitGold users can spend their gold deposits as fiat through BitGold DebitCards. All gold held with BitGold is insured against theft or loss by The Brinks Company.
“Upon closing of the Acquisition Agreement, BitGold will acquire the intellectual property and operating assets of GoldMoney in exchange for the issuance of 11,169,794 common shares in BitGold, valuing the transaction at CAD 51.9 million based on BitGold’s CAD 4.65 closing price on May 21st.”
The acquisition seems mutually beneficial, with GoldMoney being able to expand into different payment options to better serve their customers, and BitGold receives all of GoldMoney’s assets.
James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, said:
“The combination of BitGold and GoldMoney has the potential to create significant value for the clients and shareholder of both companies. Together we will continue to operate GoldMoney with the same level of security, integrity and premium customer service, but GoldMoney clients will now have access to expanded payment options, a gold debit card, and the many applications and features being developed by this innovative team. Josh and Roy understand money and gold as well as anyone I’ve met. Their energy, vision, and dedication to expand this platform are truly remarkable. I am honored to be joining the combined board along with two of my fellow GoldMoney directors, Mahendra Naik and Hector Fleming.”
About BitGold
BitGold is a corporation based in Canada, but also has offices in Milan, Italy. As a full compliant company of best practices, including KYC and AML laws, BitGold strives to innovate in the way people can transaction and hold gold savings digitally.
About GoldMoney
GoldMoney is a precious metal vaulting business founded in 2001, by James Turk and Geoff Turk. GoldMoney offers an easy way for people to purchase precious metals online and offers customers the ability to store their valuables in five countries.
What do you think of the acquisition of BitGold? Have you used either service? How do you feel about the two coming together? Let us know in the comments below!
Original Press Release seen on Yahoo! Finance
Photo Source: WikiPedia, BitGold