Singapore Shines as Bitcoin Bullion Dealers Reap Rewards

Jun 6, 2014 at 01:18 UTCUpdated Jun 6, 2014 at 12:47 UTC. Singapore is the perfect place to sell and store precious metals thanks to its stable government and friendly tax environment, says the co-founder of a new company trading bullion for bitcoin.

Rather than increasing red tape and discouraging bullion investment like other countries, he said, Singapore was more interested in removing it.

Despite both bitcoin and bullion having their philosophical foundations in sound money principles the two don't always share the same fans.

There are still several in the precious metals sphere who view bitcoin with suspicion, distrusting an investment without a physical form or agreeing with mainstream economists by saying bitcoin lacks 'intrinsic value'.

BullionStar's Persson is definitely not one of those people, and views bitcoin as both sound money and an interesting investment.

He wants users to view their portfolio holdings in both bitcoin and precious metals as actual currencies, viewing charts and comparing the prices between them as units of account and stores of value.

Buyers in Singapore can buy online or at BullionStar's shopfront right in Singapore's Central Business District, and take physical possession of their bullion as soon as a bitcoin transaction receives the required six confirmations.

Selling bullion for bitcoin can be quite lucrative, even outside Singapore.

Amagi Metals, based in the US, was one of the first bullion dealers in the world to accept bitcoin and has turned it into a successful enterprise.

Marketing Director Megan Duffield said the company now does about 30% of its business in bitcoin alone, and has "Seen well over $10.5m in bitcoin sales since the payment method was integrated".