BitGold

BitGold Inc.
Subsidiary
Industry Financial Services
Founders Roy Sebag
Josh Crumb
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Darrell MacMullin (CEO)
Products Payment systems
Savings
Revenue Increase$13.6 million (2016)
Parent GoldMoney Inc[1]
Website www.bitgold.com

BitGold is a Canadian company offering international savings and payments services which allow people and businesses to send payments and hold savings with physical gold. Its headquarters are in Toronto, Canada.[2]

History

Early history

Founded in 2014 by Roy Sebag and Josh Crumb, BitGold is the sole operating business of BitGold Inc.[3]

Initial investors in BitGold were Soros Brothers Investment which is run by Alexander Soros, the son of George Soros.[4] On June 16, 2015, BitGold Inc. announced the completion of an additional $21.4 million secondary financing.[5]

On June 26, 2015, BitGold Inc. announced US residents can sign up on the BitGold platform and buy, sell or redeem gold.[6]

On June 30, 2015, BitGold Inc announced former head of PayPal Canada, Darrell MacMullin to be CEO.[7]

On September 4, 2015 BitGold Inc announced the launch of their mobile application on iOS and Android.[8]

On November 28, 2015 BitGold Inc announced the appointment of John Butler to lead the wealth services division. He is well known by writing the "Golden Revolution" in 2012.[9]

GoldMoney Inc acquisition

On May 22, 2015, BitGold Inc. announced the acquisition of GoldMoney Inc and its subsidiaries for a purchase price of $51.9 million, integrating over $1.5 billion in assets and over 135,000 user sign ups into the combined company.[10][11][12]

Corporate headquarters

BitGold’s corporate headquarters is based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. BitGold's European headquarters is located in Milan, Italy.

Services

BitGold is currently available in more than eleven languages. BitGold’s services allow people to purchase gold and make financial transactions using the acquired gold between individuals and businesses.[13][14][15] As of 2015, BitGold operates in 166 markets and has 625,000 registered accounts. BitGold allows customers to send, receive, and redeem gold bullion.[16]

BitGold's original platform homepage

Vault accounts are provided to users along with transaction services including cross-border gold payments, merchant invoicing and processing for gold, debit card spending of gold at traditional points of sale, and conversions to a user's external digital wallet.[17]

Regulations

Sebag, the co-founder of BitGold, has stated that he believes BitGold is not a bank because it does not engage in fractional-reserve banking.[18][19]

BitGold is regarded by Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) as a dealer in precious metals and stones.[20] BitGold offers its services under the Canadian Bailment Law.[21]

Safety and Security

BitGold has an arrangement with The Brinks Company to provide access to vaults located in Toronto, London, Zürich, Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong. All financial statements are audited by PriceWaterhouse.[22][23]

The BitGold Corporate By-Laws states that any customer transaction that is carried out must be commenced in their segregated subsidiary BitGold Vault Inc. The Corporation is required to buy or sell assayed and stamped .9995 pure or better bullion-grade gold for customers from an approved list in which their gold meets the minimum specification set by the London Bullion Market or New York Mercantile Exchange division Commodity Exchange resulting in the settlement of each metric gram, kilogram or tonne of physical gold. All vaulted gold must maintain adequate insurance coverage for every customer, in which the current insurance provider is "BRINKS".[24] All account holders are allowed upon request real-time "audits" of their physical gold bullion, this is done through the corporation’s patent pending technology "aurum", in which an encrypted digital copy is sent to a third party auditor to conduct the audit at the vault custodian ensuring the reported gold is reconciled through physical inspection.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "(Press Release) BitGold Announces Acquisition of GoldMoney". GoldMoney. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Hill, Liezel. "Toronto-based startup BitGold plans up to $20 million IPO next year". Financial Post. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Here's a new way to use gold". CNBC. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Hill, Liezel. "Bitcoin meets gold for Canadian startup seeking IPO". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "(Press Release) BitGold Completes C$21.0 Million Bought Deal Financing". Digital Journal. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "BitGold Announces Platform Launch in the United States". Tech Vibes. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "(Press Release) BitGold Inc. – BitGold Announces Former Head of PayPal Canada, Darrell MacMullin to be CEO of Reorganized BitGold". Less Thunk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "BitGold launches Android and iOS apps". Fintech Finance. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "John Butler to lead GoldMoney's new wealth services division". Wealth Advisor. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "(Press Release) BitGold Announces Acquisition of GoldMoney". GoldMoney. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "BitGold Acquires GoldMoney, Expands its Reach". Inside Bitcoins. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Maxim, Jeffrey. "BitGold Review- BitGold Inc. Acquires GoldMoney.com for CAD $52 Million". Bitcoin Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "BitGold: Returning to the gold standard". Communities Digital News. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Spinning gold into dollars: how BitGold intends to become a new standard". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "BitGold Disrupts Financial Services". Mining.com. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Digital currencies: A gold standard for bitcoin". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 Jun 2015.
  17. ↑ "BitGold Announces Formation of Technical Advisory Board, Appoints Hootsuite Co-Founder Dario Meli and Former Microsoft Ventures Creator Rahul Sood". MarketWatch. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  18. ↑ "Interview: BitGold co-founder Roy Sebag explains company's philosophy". Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Canadians still spending, but not using cash". CBC. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Esoimeme, Ehi Eric. "A Critical Analysis of the Anti-Money Laundering Measures Adopted by BitGold Inc.". http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604721. Retrieved 7 July 2015. External link in |publisher= (help)
  21. ↑ Koven, Peter. "BitGold begins trading on TSX Venture Exchange as gold transaction platform builds momentum". Financial Post. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  22. ↑ Tilak, John. "Online platform BitGold to go public in Toronto, seek Asia listing". Reuters. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Prisco, Giulio. "BitGold Announces a Bitcoin-like System for Gold Storage and Payments". Bitcoin Magazine. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  24. ↑ "Können wir künftig an der Kasse mit Gold bezahlen?". 20min.ch. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Transparency Buying Physical Gold". BitGold. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
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