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May 21, 2014, 06:06:56 PM |
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Part of bitcoin’s mystique is that it isn’t backed up by anything of traditional value. It’s kind of like U.S. dollars in that way, come to think of it, although bitcoin rejects silver and gold defiantly.
So for a major precious metal dealer such as Euro Pacific to start accepting bitcoin is not only surprising, but also a likely feather in the cap for the cryptocurrency’s advocates.
Euro Pacific will now use BitPay to accept bitcoin, they announced this morning, making Euro Pacific the largest company by volume to accept the cryptocurrency to date.
The company, led by investor Peter Schiff, “specializes in making high-quality bullion coins and bars part of its customers’ financial portfolio,” a release states. So basically, the move will allow people to convert their bitcoins into gold bars so that they can finally enjoy physical fruits of their mining spoils like techie Scrooge McDucks.
“Bitcoin offers tremendous benefits as a medium of exchange for both our domestic and international customers,” Michael Finger, director of marketing at Euro Pacific Precious Metals, says in the release. “We are excited about giving owners of bitcoin the opportunity to inexpensively and reliably convert any excess holdings into precious metals rather than back to fiat currency.”
So it’s the perfect solution for bitcoin users who are paranoid about the currency’s value plummeting, as it’s wont to do.
Of course, bitcoin will never become a true fiat currency. But this move offers bitcoiners the option to convert their cryptocurrency into gold in case of a drop. The move shows that Euro Pacific, at the very least, is confident in bitcoin’s value — an endorsement that’s especially notable after the tough winter the Bitcoin community weathered.
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