Bitcoin vs Banking [infographic]
Long-time Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff is embracing the future of cryptocurrency as a valuable form of payment. Late last year Schiff made his skepticism known when comparing the value of bitcoin to gold. He was very outspoken towards this view, but this news makes it seems that his outlook may have changed and is now embracing the importance of bitcoin as a payment method.
Euro Pacific Precious Metals is one of the world’s largest gold and silver dealers, for which Schiff is a major investor. The company specializes in making high-quality bullion coins and bars to enhance and expand their customers’ financial profile. Although the company does not operate in the United States, they have built quite the reputation for calling out unsavory practices throughout the industry. The company decided to embrace Bitcoin simply because they want to provide transactions that are easier and cheaper for their customers.
Euro Pacific Precious Metals has partnered with BitPay, the well-known Atlanta-based Bitcoin payment processor, to facilitate their digital currency transactions. Although Schiff’s stance has been obvious over the past few years, it has become obvious that his company believes in the technology behind bitcoin, and what it can mean for the future. Because of regulation restrictions, the company does not operate anywhere in the United States, but still remains one of the largest dealers of gold and silver in the world. Euro Pacific provides a service that allows users to invest in gold and silver using Euro Pacific Bank, a traditional bank where users can deposit gold instead of fiat. This gives buyers the ability to attach a debit card to each account and use their holdings in gold and silver as traditional money in different parts of the world.
The partnership with BitPay has the ability to bring a whole new market of gold and silver buyers to Euro Pacific Precious Metals, and because BitPay allows merchants to immediately convert bitcoin into dollars, Schiff and the company can avoid the risk of volatility. In a recent press release, Michael Finger Euro Pacific’s Director of Marketing stated, “Bitcoin offers tremendous benefits as a medium of exchange for both our domestic and international customers. A wire transfer of fiat funds can be slow and expensive for the customer, and credit card fees are too high to absorb at the low premiums we offer. Not only does it make business sense, but 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.”
The partnership between the two companies marks a major milestone in the acceptance of bitcoin throughout the world. For Euro Pacific, there will most likely be a large influx of new and existing users looking to take advantage of the new feature, which may also include users who sold some of their gold for bitcoin years ago. As more global companies embrace Bitcoin, we are sure to see the transaction benefits on both the consumer and merchant side, saving in costly transaction, credit card and processing fees.
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