Many precious metals investors overlap into the world of cryptocurrency investors. This is predominantly because many precious metals investors, like cryptocurrency investors, are skeptical of government issued currencies, of inflation, and of the solvency of banking institutions (and in some cases governments) in Europe, the United States, and other significant financial centers.
Precious Metals and Cryptocurrencies over the Last Decade
In 2011 the European banking crisis hit, and it quickly became apparent that banks did not maintain adequate capital reserves. In countries like Greece and Cyprus, banks placed capital controls on accounts, limiting daily withdrawals to €200 per day. Cyprus also issued a wealth tax, which affected anyone with significant holdings in Cyprus domiciled banks. As capital controls existed at the time, no one could access their money, and in effect, much of it was seized under the guise of tax, in order to keep the banking system solvent.
Many governments, it quickly became apparent, were also heavily burdened with debt. In fact, a number of countries, including several European countries as well as the United States and the United Kingdom, maintain debt ratios of well over 100%. This essentially means that for every Dollar or Euro that a country earns, it has more that a Dollar or Euro's worth of debt.
As the European Union has developed and grown, it has allowed countries such as Greece and Italy, which traditionally had to pay high interest rates on debt, access to debt at much lower rates. This had a dramatic effect on the amount that these countries could borrow. However, it became apparent that one of the reasons for the previously high interest on debt was that it limited the amount of debt these countries could borrow to what they could actually afford. With access to lower interest rates, countries were able to access far more credit than should have been available.
This situation, essentially bankrupt governments and inadequately capitalized financial institutions, worried many investors. And a rush into alternative investment products prevailed. Many Europeans placed significant amounts of their savings into precious metals, including gold and silver. At this time, investors also began to hear about 'Bitcoin' a new cryptocurrency that had been developed. Bitcoin had a special appeal - it was not controlled by any government, was freely exchangeable, and the number of coins to be circulated was limited, thereby preventing inflation of the currency.
Today, both precious metals and cryptocurrencies have become mainstream choices for investors looking to place money outside of 'traditional' government or stock market controlled investment options. In addition to Bitcoins, other altcoins, such as Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum have gained large followings among cryptocurrency investors. As both precious metals and cryptocurrencies attract investors looking for similar investment options, many of these investors select to invest into both cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
Converting Cryptocurrencies into Precious Metals
Cryptocurrencies are still a new concept, and a new technology. Buying them, using them and converting them can be challenging for some investors not familiar with how the technology works.
For investors that hold Bitcoins or other Altcoins, Suisse Gold will accept these currencies for the purchase of precious metals.
Making a purchase using cryptocurrencies is simple, and Suisse Gold has made every effort to streamline the process to be as straightforward as possible for its investors.
1. Select the cryptocurrency you would like to use to pay for your order. Suisse Gold currently accepts Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litcoin (LTC).
2. Set the website to the cryptocurrency you have selected. You may do this by clicking on the dropdown menu at the top, right-hand side of the website. Once you have selected your currency of choice, the prices of all the precious metals will default to your selected cryptocurrency.
3. Place your order online. Suisse Gold has a limit of $100,000 or currency equivalent per transaction paid for using cryptocurrencies.
4. When your order has been completed you will receive instructions containing the information needed to pay with cryptocurrencies. Payments normally process within several minutes or hours, depending on the currency selected. Once your payment has been received, you will be notified and your order will be processed.
5. For any additional queries or questions, clients may contact our customer relations office for assistance.
