http://forexmagnates.com/want-to-invest-in-real-and-virtual-gold-us-commodities-dealer-accepts-bitcoins-as-payment/
North American commodities dealer
Agora Commodities has this week made a bold step by offering traders and
investors the option of buying a series of precious metals including
gold, silver, platinum and palladium in exchange for Bitcoin.
Virtual Currency Buys The Real Thing
Agora Commodities is the first company to offer a physical commodity
which can be paid for with virtual currency, the transaction value of
which is likely to be subject to extreme variations as gold has known
parameters, being an established, physical resource, whereas Bitcoin
does not, as it is a virtual media with only a short history and often
extreme fluctuations in value.
The Price Of Privacy
Yesterday, Joseph Castillo, President of Agora Commodities stated on
behalf of his firm that he believes that privacy is no longer the
precious commodity that it once was, and that in allowing commodity
transactions to take place using Bitcoins displays to its customers that
it intends to preserve anonymity and display respect for the privacy of
its clients and their investments.
Mr. Castillo’s statement reads as follows: “In today’s world, privacy
is quickly turning into one of the people’s most precious commodities. I
was inspired by an ISP provider in Utah that refused to give his
customers data over to authorities when it was not properly requested
with a warrant. Agora Commodities first and foremost respects its
customers’ privacy. This was the best way to show that respect”.
Investors Eschew Banks, Regulators Eschew Bitcoins
A point of interest here is that whilst this method of payment offers
clients a means of investing in precious metals anonymously, thus
circumventing government surveillance or capital controls such as exist
in
Argentina as reported by Forex Magnates
last week, performing anti-money-laundering (AML) and know-your-client
(KYC) procedures in order to satisfy regulatory requirements could prove
to be an arduous process.
Last month, Forex Magnates reported that Bitcoin network BTC Global was in the process of implementing a
crowdsourced regulatory structure
which goes some way toward resolving the actual compliance issues
associated with virtual currency itself, however if an individual or
organization wishes to purchase commodities anonymously, and the payment
arrives with the commodities dealer with no ownership or originator
details, this is likely to attract the attention of the regulator.
Gold And Bitcoin:
The Currencies Of The Future?
Bearing in mind that since 2008, the previously water-tight trust in
the banking system is beginning to wane, assisted by various financial
crises in the Eurozone and North America, IMF bailouts, nationalization
of banks and this year, the first bail-in which took place in Cyprus,
relieving depositors of up to 60% of their own funds to help pay the
unserviceable debts of two of the nations banks, and setting a
pan-European precedent.
In other nations such as Argentina and China, the government
exercises strict control on capital transfer, restricting citizens’
funds to domestic banking systems and markets, a practice often
unpopular with those subject to such procedures.
These factors have contributed to a switch toward investment in other
mediums, as money in the bank does not provide the safe haven that it
used to. By offering gold and Bitcoin, Agora Commodities could well be
embracing the two currencies of the future.
