Buying silver has been an investment activity that has taken place all over the world for thousands of years. Nowadays, with the internet being the medium by which we make most of our retail purchases, more and more investors are turning to online gold and silver dealers to make their investments. With the number of online precious metals dealers in existence always growing, it has never been easier to purchase silver.
Bitcoins are a type of digital currency that is growing in popularity and has been since it was introduced back in early 2009. More and more dealers are accepting Bitcoins as a form of payment and due to this rise in popularity, you might want to know a bit more about Bitcoins.
How Do Bitcoins Work?
Bitcoins, much like other currencies you may be used to, have values that are always changing on the open market. Though you cannot hold Bitcoins or withdraw them like you can cash at an ATM, they and their value are very real.
Using Bitcoins is almost identically similar to paying with an e-wallet online, a fact that has helped Bitcoin’s popularity. Once you have purchased Bitcoins, they will be held online much like cash in an e-wallet such as PayPal. When you want to use your Bitcoins to make a purchase the process is also much like it would be with PayPal. Your private information is kept private and the transaction happens almost instantaneously. These facts make paying for silver with Bitcoins seem a lot less crazy than it might have only a few moments ago.
The concept of digital money may not be something you are familiar with, but in today’s digital age it is turning into something you are going to have to get used to.
Completely Private
When dealing with the purchase of silver online, almost everyone wants the details of their transactions to be completely private. Investing in physical silver is not something you want everyone to know, and for this reason prospective investors are always looking for the most discreet way of paying for their item that they hope to have very discreetly shipped to their door.
Bitcoins fulfill most people’s need for secrecy in that all Bitcoin transactions are wholly private. This means that no one besides you and the person receiving your Bitcoins has any idea a transfer of money was ever made.
Bitcoins are new, but they are taking the world by storm and are becoming an increasingly viable payment option online. The allow payment for your silver to happen immediately and give you and your transaction the utmost level of privacy and security. While not every online dealer of precious metals accepts Bitcoins as a payment option, the tide is beginning to shift and before you know it Bitcoins will likely be accepted by every major online retailer.
Bitcoin Fees
Although Bitcoin charges minimal or no fees for using their currency, online retailers will incur fees for both accepting Bitcoins as well as converting them to US Dollars. Because margins in the retail space are so thin, most retailers will pass the processing fees onto the client, typically in the form of a 2-4% surcharge on the order total. Customers will have to weigh the advantages of privacy and speed against the disadvantage of the 2-4% processing fee for Bitcoin silver purchases.