Bitgold - Legit or scam ?

[79Au197]

Executive Summary - Not a scam. It is a serious, well-funded initiative to deploy a gold-based global money alternative to fiat (paper) currency. It appears to have been under development for several years and is founded by a couple of really smart guys. It has many features including extremely low exchange fees (1%), extremely low entry cost, multiple vault locations, prepaid debit card, and access to physical gold.

Take a look at  http://contrafactual.com/2016/01/21/roy-sebag-and-josh-crumb/

Long story - Disclaimer: I am posting this at the request of BitGold via an email (probably from the OP). As an early adopter of the BitGold platform I am more than willing to share my observations. I specifically did not read any of the other replies prior to posting this to avoid any bias.

I joined BitGold shortly after they announced operations in the US last August. After a significant amount of research, I opened an account and deposited $40 US to the New York vault (equivalent to 1.061g Au). I then followed with additional sized deposits to New York and Zurich. One of the things that I like about BitGold is the low cost of 1% per transaction. Shortly thereafter I requested a Prepaid Card. I did not realize it at the time, but the Prepaid Card was still in "beta". The first card said BitGold, the new ones say GoldMoney (BitGold acquired GoldMoney in May of 2015). In November I loaded a few hundred dollars on to the Prepaid Card to cover some emergency costs. Buying gold is easy via ACH transfer from my bank and it takes just a day or two (standard ACH time). I also purchased some gold with a credit card - equally easy. Loading the Prepaid Card through sale of gold also takes about a day (maybe less now). I had no problems using the Prepaid Card.

I have not yet ordered a 10g .9999 fine Au GoldCube, but here are some folks who did …

http://youtu.be/baRa8T_hywA

http://youtu.be/vsYp8s0rps8

BitGold also has nice little perks (that I totally wasn't expecting) like a Birthday Bonus 0.0nn g (where nn is your age, unless this was coincidental) and a recurring ACH bonus (for setting up a recurring ACH deposit - 10% of you recurring deposit up to some limit). Note that this is what I experienced, and I do not guarantee the these perks will continue or be available to every.

There appear to be many loud whiners out there who joined BitGold hoping to get free gold by signing up a lot of people under a special program. BitGold credited these whiners free gold, then took it back when the people they got to sign up failed to buy any gold. This was of course well documented in the terms and conditions. READ THE FINE PRINT. Still these whiners are bad mouthing BitGold because of this. Gotta hate whiners.

Oh, before I forget. BitGold has gone out of its way to be a good global citizen complying with the laws of all countries in which it does business. It has procedures in place to honor Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer laws. It uses military strength RSA 4096 and AES 256 encryption to guarantee secure transactions. Two factor authentication is available. Accounts can be accessed securely via website, Apple and Android apps.

Is BitGold as scam? No way, nope, nada, zip, 0  It is the real deal.

Will BitGold/GoldMoney remain a viable concern into the far future? Who knows. Their success will like all new companies depend on growth.

Do your own due diligence at https://www.bitgold.com

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[1713570175]

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[1713570175]

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[79Au197]

As requested here : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1326821.msg13621760#msg13621760 I'm making this thread and based on the reviews given we will see if we should keep Bitgold on the Scam list or not .
So I'd like from people to be fair and give their reviews about Bitgold (the more reviews , the best ) [Give your review only if you used them already]

I freely admit to responding to this thread at the request of BitGold, but I strongly object the fact that I will probably be labeled  "Sock Puppet" for joining this community and responding to this post. I do not work for BitGold and really am just one of their customers.

Truth be told I have a BitCoin wallet, but with no way to deposit to it I lost interest. (Yeah, yeah, blame me for not finding a way to do it). Instead I found BitGold and access was easy and highly functional.

To quote Arlo Guthrie "you've got a lot of damn gall" to accuse BitGold of being a scam after Mt. Gox "lost" 650,000 BTC. Just sayin …

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[OmegaStarScream]

I see a lot of new accounts that are getting created just for posting this review ,so ... Newbie - Junior members accounts reviews won't be taken seriously .
Keep it coming guys , I'd like to see more .

[79Au197]

I see a lot of new accounts that are getting created just for posting this review ,so ... Newbie - Junior members accounts reviews won't be taken seriously .
Keep it coming guys , I'd like to see more .

Well, it won't be the first time no one has taken me seriously … but in the end I was proven to be right.

This is a perfect example of why Internet polls have no statistical relevance. Highly biased sample. "Nine out ten repeat buyers of Brand X prefer it ten to one over all other brands."

You asked for the user experience for BitGold to decide if it is a scam, but what you really want are those people who are heavy BitCoin users (actually, heavy posters on this message board) who might also happen to use BitGold.

Any new folks who came in to answer your question about BitGold won't be taken seriously. Who will be? BitCoin users who don't have BitGold accounts? None of the Newbie posts on this thread have slammed BitCoin. Well, yeah I got pissed off at the "Sock Puppet" comment and brought up Mt. Gox. But that was in context of BitGold being a scam. BitGold isn't a scam. Now whether it is or will continue to be a well-run viable company is a different question.

[DeDordtenaar]

i think still legit. many people in my group still using this site

[Aamir1]

not scam. atleast i never heard such a word for bitgold from any of its users so far.

[favdesu]

After some serious research and due diligence, I joined BitGold in November 2015 and have appreciated everything that it has allowed me to do.  I have bought grams of gold, redeemed some to the Gold Money card, invited people via the Golden Heart and affiliate programs, sent gifts of gold, engaged in the community forum, and much more.  It is the real deal.

all I see are brand new sockpuppets shilling for this site. doesn't make it look more legit

+1.
Less legit, if anything. The first one is embarrassing.

Hey BitGold, your social media manager is a moron.

absolutely. they probably got a google alert setup and jump on every forum thread to shill. this is literally the worst PR management in history

[Patatas]

From what I have seen,the site is not scam but they way it works ,its not meant to guarantee you any profits.Because everything is just virtual and if you want to buy out or ship your order,the shipping charges involved are as good as the actual price of the gold you're importing.Ofcourse you wouldn't wanna ship,in other words,it simply means they're keeping your investments hooked on to the site with false hopes.This is just too good marketing .Not a scam though.

[KenR]

To a certain extent they're scam since its a legit company.Now cryptsy was a legit company too until they scammed.The thing about such companies which offer virtual investments is,they aren't publicly shared or limited (such as stocks/public investment options).Therefore it's always a high probability of them dumping everything and burn the data .Since the investors have invested on their own risks,a public petition would hardly matter in the court .I would not be surprised if bitgold is called a Ponzi which will dump its users someday.

[Blawpaw]

I wouldn't put my money on them if I were you!

here take a look:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1133534.0
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2u54cc/is_bitgold_inc_a_scam/

[BTCBinary]

I think the site and the company itself is not a scam. they are truly legit.
http://mysuccessonlinemarketing.com/is-bitgold-a-scam-my-review-and-thoughts-on-it

But, as any new company dealing with bitcoin the risks are pretty high and so you need to decide if its worth it to invest.

[favdesu]

I think the site and the company itself is not a scam. they are truly legit.
http://mysuccessonlinemarketing.com/is-bitgold-a-scam-my-review-and-thoughts-on-it

But, as any new company dealing with bitcoin the risks are pretty high and so you need to decide if its worth it to invest.

you can't even withdraw bitcoin. it's only throwing bitcoin at them.

[MelanieAtBitGold]

Hello! As my username suggests, my name is Melanie and I am the VP of Customer Success at BitGold. I made this account to respond to the thread you have referenced in your original post a couple months ago. There was a lot of confusion there, so I provided a brief response and advised posters on how they can contact us to ask any questions they might have (support@bitgold.com).

I understand that you want to hear from more established members of this forum, and that I carry an obvious bias as an employee, so I'm just here to provide a few resources that you and others might find helpful.

The accusations that we are a "scam" are coming from those who have tried to take advantage of our referral program, which is prohibited in our Terms of Service. This program will be updated to further discourage abuse of the program, as is discussed here:

Update to the Golden Heart Referral Program from BitGold CEO Darrell MacMullin - community.bitgold.com/discussion/468/

Here are some resources that may be helpful! Definitely much more to learn from our website and other media, but these will help give you a quick rundown of how BitGold operates. If you have any questions please to feel free to reach out.

BitGold's Safety and Security page (including information about our regulatory compliance, auditing information, insurance, and more) - https://www.bitgold.com/safety-security#/

Public Regulatory Filings of GoldMoney Inc. (BitGold's parent company) - http://www.sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00037170

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin on Bloomberg TV - http://bloombergtv.ca/news/industries/tech-and-health/bitgold-ceo-were-in-the-middle-of-a-technology-revolution/

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin and co-founder Josh Crumb on BNN - http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=788076

[newcoins1978]

Hello! As my username suggests, my name is Melanie and I am the VP of Customer Success at BitGold. I made this account to respond to the thread you have referenced in your original post a couple months ago. There was a lot of confusion there, so I provided a brief response and advised posters on how they can contact us to ask any questions they might have (support@bitgold.com).

I understand that you want to hear from more established members of this forum, and that I carry an obvious bias as an employee, so I'm just here to provide a few resources that you and others might find helpful.

The accusations that we are a "scam" are coming from those who have tried to take advantage of our referral program, which is prohibited in our Terms of Service. This program will be updated to further discourage abuse of the program, as is discussed here:

Update to the Golden Heart Referral Program from BitGold CEO Darrell MacMullin - community.bitgold.com/discussion/468/

Here are some resources that may be helpful! Definitely much more to learn from our website and other media, but these will help give you a quick rundown of how BitGold operates. If you have any questions please to feel free to reach out.

BitGold's Safety and Security page (including information about our regulatory compliance, auditing information, insurance, and more) - https://www.bitgold.com/safety-security#/

Public Regulatory Filings of GoldMoney Inc. (BitGold's parent company) - http://www.sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00037170

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin on Bloomberg TV - http://bloombergtv.ca/news/industries/tech-and-health/bitgold-ceo-were-in-the-middle-of-a-technology-revolution/

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin and co-founder Josh Crumb on BNN - http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=788076

Why don't you address those users in this reply?
Your reply is just about your organization structure which is ok.

But to become more trustworthy deal with those users complains and solve them. We've both now hat if you are right, users will see that too.

[coniferhead]

The only thing these guys had going for them was the referral program..

Many scam like behaviours to me:

Lucrative viral marketing campaign they had no intention of honouring (takes back money after being cleared for many months).
Lot of promises of safety, but no proof in law (as seen above - they can just take it).
Hard to get money in and out for most of the world.
Willing to change terms retrospectively when it suits them (and never to their own cost).

And finally - shitting on people that helped them out in their referral program is pretty nasty.

If you want gold, there are many cheaper and less risky ways.

[favdesu]

Hello! As my username suggests, my name is Melanie and I am the VP of Customer Success at BitGold. I made this account to respond to the thread you have referenced in your original post a couple months ago. There was a lot of confusion there, so I provided a brief response and advised posters on how they can contact us to ask any questions they might have (support@bitgold.com).

I understand that you want to hear from more established members of this forum, and that I carry an obvious bias as an employee, so I'm just here to provide a few resources that you and others might find helpful.

The accusations that we are a "scam" are coming from those who have tried to take advantage of our referral program, which is prohibited in our Terms of Service. This program will be updated to further discourage abuse of the program, as is discussed here:

Update to the Golden Heart Referral Program from BitGold CEO Darrell MacMullin - community.bitgold.com/discussion/468/

Here are some resources that may be helpful! Definitely much more to learn from our website and other media, but these will help give you a quick rundown of how BitGold operates. If you have any questions please to feel free to reach out.

BitGold's Safety and Security page (including information about our regulatory compliance, auditing information, insurance, and more) - https://www.bitgold.com/safety-security#/

Public Regulatory Filings of GoldMoney Inc. (BitGold's parent company) - http://www.sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00037170

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin on Bloomberg TV - http://bloombergtv.ca/news/industries/tech-and-health/bitgold-ceo-were-in-the-middle-of-a-technology-revolution/

Interview with CEO Darrell MacMullin and co-founder Josh Crumb on BNN - http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=788076

and why did you send your socks / shills in first? crypto community is not stupid to see through this bs

[OmegaStarScream]

I'd like to see more opinions about this matter please (from people who used it only) . Newbies and Junior members reviews won't be taken seriously because they could be different alternative accounts for Bitgold themselves .So please guys try to not spam the topic a lot and only give reviews if you used the company before .

[triggermage]

I signed up once & had around $60 worth of 'Gold' on there. My phone broke & I lost the SIM trying to move it so I didn't have access to the number I used to signup, so I couldn't log in. I contacted support and they wouldn't help, said that they couldn't do anything about it. Never signed up again because it still asks for a number to sign up & that's annoying because I don't have one anymore :-(

[tolikkk]

I signed up once & had around $60 worth of 'Gold' on there. My phone broke & I lost the SIM trying to move it so I didn't have access to the number I used to signup, so I couldn't log in. I contacted support and they wouldn't help, said that they couldn't do anything about it. Never signed up again because it still asks for a number to sign up & that's annoying because I don't have one anymore :-(

I think that this is permanent loss, although the loss of clock or credit cards and so on, but if you take into account that there is a service of Internet-Bank, it is likely something can be done on other data, for example, checking a Bank account or something, but I think it's not a mistake of the service, but some drawbacks still there and it is likely that assistance was not given in consequence of omissions in the rules that they advice such cases to provide, although

[OROBTC]

...

I take the old-fashioned view of gold: If you can't stand in front of it, and defend it with an AR-15, then you don't own it.

In other words, find a way to be able to buy and hide your physical gold.

If Bitgold ever defaults (like during a gold price reset to $50,000...), then the BEST you could hope for would be cash settlement, and that would be at a lower price (before the sudden reset).

Holding your gold close is just so much better.