How to Buy Gold and Silver with Bitcoin

Bitcoin was modelled upon gold. So not surprisingly many people interested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are also interested in buying gold and silver bullion.

While Bitcoin has gained massively in price since its creation in 2009, it has also now become a widely accepted method of payment. Some people who have made significant profits in Bitcoin now wish to diversify by buying gold and silver.

GoldSurvivalGuide – Now Accepting Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to Buy Gold and Silver Bullion

We’ll explain the pro’s and con’s of using Bitcoin as the payment method for buying precious metals. Then we’ll also cover the process for buying gold and silver with Bitcoin here at GoldSurvivalGuide.

Pros & Cons of Bitcoin Payments

– Advantages of Bitcoin

Here are some of the advantages of using bitcoin to buy gold and silver.

1. Global Currency

Using bitcoin can be a good option to buy precious metals in New Zealand from overseas. As there are no currency conversions required.

Also there is not the up to 5 day delay, waiting for an international wire transfer to arrive.

(See this article to learn more about Why You Should Buy and Store Gold and Silver in New Zealand)

2. Doesn’t Require the Use of Any Bank

Using bitcoin to buy gold or silver means you are not using the banking system. Your payment details are not recorded with a bank or credit card company.

3. Security

With Bitcoin as your payment method you are in full control of your transactions. It is impossible for merchants and business accepting bitcoin to force unwanted or unnoticed charges, as could occur when you use other means of payment. Because Bitcoin payments can be made without personal information being tied to the transaction, there is strong protection against identity theft. Bitcoin users can also protect their money with backup and encryption.

– Disadvantages of Bitcoin

1. Low Market Depth/Liquidity in New Zealand

Here in New Zealand there are limited bitcoin exchanges for converting your bitcoin back to NZ Dollar fiat currency. This low liquidity and market depth on NZ exchanges can make it difficult to convert your bitcoin profits back to NZ Dollars. Especially for sizeable amounts in the 10’s of thousands of dollars.

However this disadvantage can be overcome by buying gold and silver with bitcoin directly. So rather than first converting bitcoin back to NZ Dollars, instead buying gold and silver directly with bitcoin can be an easier option.  We can transact up to $100,000 per day equivalent in bitcoin payments.

2. No Consumer Protection

Bitcoin payments are instant and irreversible. Unlike payments via credit cards there is not a built in ability to claw back payments in the case of fraud. So it’s important to deal with a reputable company with a solid history of delivering the products you order.

3. Volatility

Gold – and in particular silver – are often viewed as volatile assets. But they are nothing compared to bitcoin! It’s not uncommon to see massive movements in the bitcoin price of 10-100% or more a day.

This volatility in extreme cases could mean you need to submit more bitcoin than initially thought before your transaction is approved on the bitcoin blockchain.

The high volatility can also make it difficult to know how much bitcoin you need to purchase a given amount of gold or silver.

4. Privacy

Interestingly Bitcoin is often perceived as an anonymous payment network. But in actuality, Bitcoin is probably the most transparent payment network in the world. So for Bitcoin to provide acceptable levels of privacy it must be used correctly. Bitcoin uses payment “addresses” to provide anonymity however this also has its drawbacks:

“Since users usually have to reveal their identity in order to receive services or goods, Bitcoin addresses cannot remain fully anonymous. As the block chain is permanent, it’s important to note that something not traceable currently may become trivial to trace in the future. For these reasons, Bitcoin addresses should only be used once and users must be careful not to disclose their addresses.”

Learn more at: Bitcoin.org – Protect your privacy

How to Buy Gold and Silver with Bitcoin (and Bitcoin Cash) at GoldSurvivalGuide

In addition to accepting NZD, AUD, USD, and EUR currencies, GoldSurvivalGuide now accepts the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Along with Bitcoin Cash.

We can currently accept payment for gold and silver via bitcoin equivalent to $100,000 daily. Note: There is a 2% + 25c charge for payments made via Bitcoin. Along with a minimum purchase of $2,500.

Step By Step Process To Buy Gold with Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash at GoldSurvivalGuide

1. Request a quote for the gold and/or silver products you wish to buy. Via either our online shop, by email or phone 0800 888 465 (or +64 9 281 3898). Indicate you wish to pay with Bitcoin either when requesting the quote or when you accept the quote.

2. You will receive a quote initially in New Zealand Dollars. When you accept the quote, an invoice for the total bitcoin (or BCH) due will then be emailed to you.

3. Due to the volatility of the bitcoin price, you will only have a 15 minute period in which to submit payment and complete your transaction. If you miss this 15 minute window to make payment, you need to let us know and another invoice will need to be created.

4. Make payment by logging into your Bitcoin wallet. If your wallet is on the device you are using to view the invoice (such as your mobile phone), you can open the payment in your wallet by tapping “Open in Wallet”. Otherwise scan the QR code in the invoice with your smartphone to open the payment in your mobile wallet. Your wallet will lock in with the correct receiving bitcoin address and sending amount. Then click to make the payment. (Important: See below for what mobile wallets are acceptable to use to make you bitcoin (or bitcoin cash) payment.)

5. Any miners fees and bitcoin network fees you have to pay are shown at the time of payment. These are not our fees or our payment processor fees and vary depending upon how busy the bitcoin network is.

6. If you are paying more than $3000 USD, then our payment processor will require identify confirmation from you. This is in the form of a passport number for non-US residents and a picture or scan of a photo ID.

7. Once your payment is submitted it may take anywhere from 1 to 24 hours for your payment to gain the 6 confirmations on the Bitcoin network required to confirm the transaction as complete. Your wallet may allow you to select the size of the miner fee to increase the chances of a faster payment confirmation.

8. Please note: A BitPay ID is now required of all of our customers paying with BitPay, due to recent changes in the regulatory environment. This is a one-time, easy process that collects your basic identity information so that you can continue using BitPay. For more information about the BitPay ID process, please see BitPay’s help article: What is BitPay ID verification? What documents are accepted?

What Bitcoin Wallet is Best to Make Payments in Bitcoin (or Bitcoin Cash) for Gold & Silver?

The price of bitcoin can be very volatile. In order to accept bitcoin our payment processor requires transactions to be sent within fifteen minutes.

Most bitcoin exchanges cannot send a payment that quickly. As a result, the payment can arrive late and need to be refunded. This will cost you time and money.

Many bitcoin wallets do not fully support payment protocol. These non-payment protocol wallets make it too easy to send the incorrect amount or to send your bitcoin to the wrong place. So our payment processor requires all payments to be made with a payment protocol compatible bitcoin wallet. These wallets display a URL or Payment Protocol QR code to provide the bitcoin address and transaction data securely to bitcoin wallets.

Recommended Bitcoin Wallets For Making Payments to Buy Gold and Silver

Here is a list of bitcoin wallets that you can trust to successfully use for bitcoin payments:

• BitPay Wallet
• Copay Wallet
• Mycelium Wallet
• Airbitz Wallet
• Electrum Wallet
• Bitcoin Core Wallet
• Bitcoin.com Wallet
• BRD Wallet (breadwallet)

Recommended Bitcoin Cash Wallets For Making Payments to Buy Gold and Silver

• BitPay Wallet
• Copay Wallet
• Bitcoin.com Wallet
• Bitcoin Cash Wallet
• Electron Cash Wallet

If your bitcoin wallet or bitcoin cash wallet is not one of the above it may not work with our payment processor.

What is the Current Price of Bitcoin in NZ Dollars?

Below is a chart with an indicative price for bitcoin in New Zealand Dollars.

This will help you determine how much gold and silver you can buy with your bitcoin holdings. Although you will need to take into consideration any miner and network fees payable as part of the transaction.

Can I Buy Gold and Silver Using Other Cryptocurrencies?

Currently Gold Survival Guide accepts Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and 4 USD-pegged stablecoins (GUSD, USDC, PAX, and BUSD). Hopefully can accept other major cryptocurrencies in the future too.

However if you have other cryptocurrencies you can use other exchanges or services such Coinbase or ShapeShift to convert your other cryptocurrencies into bitcoin before making your purchase.

For more information on how to buy gold and silver see: How to Buy and Invest in Gold and Silver

You might also want to check out: Bitcoin – Plan Your Exit Strategy Now – Maybe With Gold

Plus: When to Buy Gold or Silver: The Ultimate Guide