Netagio exiting gold business, to focus on GBP, EUR trading

CoinDesk reports that Netagio plans to get out of the gold business by the end of this year, instead focusing on its GBP and EUR-based trading offerings.

Recall that gold was the cornerstone of Netagio's business. The company launched as an offshoot of GoldMoney, a precious metals storage service, leveraging its parent's capabilities to do the same for Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term with Cold Storage Cold Storage Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Read this Term. Thereafter, it was one of the first to offer bitcoin-for-gold trading.

It then launched its GBP-based offering, followed by an an API as it continued to shift focus from storage to trading. CEO Simon Hamblin commented that there's more opportunity for its GBP-based offering, noting the scarcity of full-fledged GBP-based exchanges- Kraken is one of the few to introduce such. Instead, most BTC/GBP traders take to over-the-counter (OTC) venues such as Localbitcoins and Bittylicious.

Netagio had previously marketed its offerings by noting similarities between gold and bitcoin, such as their limited supply and potential to serve as a store of value. Interestingly, gold and bitcoin have both slumped in 2014. Gold hit a multi-year low below $1150 earlier this month, while bitcoin's 52-week return is now officially negative. It is uncertain, however, if the weak markets played a role in softening Netagio's BTC/gold market or if the latter would have progressed regardless.

A hallmark trait of dynamic, successful companies has been to agilely evolve their product line, shifting away from outdated offerings. Netagio's move is therefore a positive step, but challenges still abound in a highly saturated market.