BitGold has continued an eventful journey in its early life, announcing its acquisition of UK-based GoldMoney for CAD $51.9 million ($42 million).
GoldMoney is one of the largest precious metals storage firms in the UK, stating to hold $1.2 billion worth on behalf of clients. It aims to make it easier to buy gold and silver online, allowing users to make purchases in flexible amounts.
In early 2014, the firm launched a spinoff, Netagio, extended GoldMoney's storage capabilities to Bitcoin and launched a gold/bitcoin brokerage service. Netagio has since exited the gold market.
According to a disclosure, GoldMoney's 2015 unaudited gross earnings to date were £2.9 million ($4.5 million). Earnings since 2012 have declined, in part due to a declining value of gold and silver.
For BitGold, the move was likely part of its strategy early on. GoldMoney is one of the more successful variations of to those looking to "digitize gold" since the early days of the internet; during the recent crypto era, numerous Blockchain -based offerings have sprouted. The offerings of both companies strongly overlap, and considering the magnitude of investment, it is likely that BitGold's early growth strategy envisioned mass client acquisition from a third party more than organic growth.
It been a busy month for BitGold, which came out of private beta three weeks ago and debuted on the TSX Venture Exchange roughly one week later. In leveraging the blockchain to make gold more transactable, BitGold's services include gold purchases, storage, and enabling gold to be spent or accepted for payment.
Shares of BitGold have continued their wild ride, opening 29% higher at $6.00. Trading was halted on Friday. In the days prior, shares doubled in value within a 24h period, only to later give up the bulk of their gains. At their peak of $8.00, BitGold's total valuation was nearly $300 million.
