BitGold Goes Live, Looks to Make Gold a Blockchain Currency

BitGold says it has now come out of private beta, its platform now publicly available. The startup aims to use the Bitcoin Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term as means to transfer gold.

BitGold actually makes very little mention of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or even the blockchain (the company's announcement points out that "BitGold is ...not a cryptocurrency like bitcoin.") Rather, it's all about the gold. A dedicated page on the precious metal discusses how oxygen eventually destroys most compounds, but gold "remains cost-proportional to all other basic resources over time."

The startup earlier this year entered into a reverse merger deal with Loma Vista Capital Inc. that would see it publicly traded later this year. Among its several notable institutional investors, Sprott Asset Management invests heavily in alternative assets like gold. BitGold also secured $3.5 million in Series A funding from PowerOne Capital, Soros Brothers Investments, Sandstorm Gold and PortVesta Holdings.

The announcement emphasized the aim to "seamlessly use gold again as a store of value and medium for Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term", to be facilitated by its solution that took years of "careful planning and execution."

The company's offerings include: a gold brokerage (1% fee), insured gold storage (free), gold payments to other BitGold users (free), the ability to spend gold with a BitGold Mastercard (free), accept gold for payment (1% from BitGold users, 2% otherwise), and the ability to convert bitcoin to gold.

Holdings are said to insured by Lloyds of London against theft or loss.