The latest in a string of companies pulling the plug on their cryptocurrency-related business has come from Goldmoney Inc. (TSX:XAU), one of the biggest precious metals storage firms. The company has officially pulled out of the vaulted cryptocurrency service without revealing the root of its decision to exit the industry.
“As of March 6, 2019, cryptocurrency purchases are no longer available. Customers who store cryptocurrency with Goldmoney will be able to liquidate their position or request that their cryptocurrency be delivered to their wallet,” the company said in a statement.
The Toronto-based firm offers its crypto services through a spin-off business called Netagio. Goldmoney’s suspended offering allowed qualified clients to purchase the supported Cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies, or even precious metals, which offers insurable, auditable and anti-money laundering compliant exposure to the virtual asset class.
Goldmoney Holding clients were allowed to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash and keep the coins secured in cold storage, with more tokens or currencies were scheduled to be added in the months ahead.
However, customers are now required to liquidate their position or take delivery up until next May.
Rushed to capitalize on the crypto boom
Goldmoney leveraged its own expertise in precious metals custody to deliver a security solution to cryptocurrencies. “Securely stored in cold storage, client cryptocurrency holdings are password protected and shielded from being used in hot wallets or Blockchain -based third-party transfers,” it further noted in previous announcements.
Originally, Goldmoney has been offering precious metal investment services and payment networks. Established in 2001, the firm is currently holding $2 billion worth of precious metals for customers located in more than 150 countries. But as the hype around cryptocurrencies has grown over the past two years, Goldmoney rolled out vaulted Bitcoins in September 2017, offering institutional-grade custodial services for blockchain assets.
