How to buy Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency making a comeback with investors

A $50,000 “piece” of the crypto currency is rendered physically as a mere printout of a QR code on a piece of card. Hardly inspiring stuff.

Yet, the way Australians invest their hard-earned cash seems to be changing. More and more seem to be moving away from traditional financial investments and money options and choosing alternative forms of currency such as Bitcoin – which has undergone a recent surge in value – as well as the classic gold and silver bullion.

Over the past 12 months, according to the Independent Reserve exchange, the use of alternative currencies has grown by 600 per cent and this increase was further cemented when the Federal government recently announced it would place legislation in to remove “double dipping of GST” on Bitcoin.

Brisbane company Ainslie Bullion has just rewritten its 43-year business history to reflect this change and recently became the first in Australia to buy and sell both Bitcoin and bullion.

Ainslie director Paul Engeman said many of his clients chose Bitcoin or bullion because they wanted to diversify their portfolio away from traditional financial investment options.

“Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are an emerging form of alternative money and investment class,” he said. “Their popularity is growing as more and more people lose faith in fiat currencies, financial institutions and debt inflated financial markets.

“As crypto currency continues to grow and become seen as a strong alternative, we feel the two – precious metal bullion and crypto – go hand-in-hand in providing investors with a balanced option.

“While gold has a 5,000-year history and Bitcoin has a 10-year history, these two forms of money have many similarities and actually work well together. In fact, it’s common to see Bitcoin even represented visually as a gold coin.

“Bitcoin and gold should not be viewed as mutually exclusive assets and by using them in tandem, an individual can build a portfolio that provides for long-term financial stability.”

And it’s not just technically astute millennials who are jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon. Mr Engeman said the clients buying bullion and Bitcoin could range from tradies and high school teachers to even baby boomers who invest via their self-managed super fund (SMSF).

“SMSF’s have been the largest customer category growth in bullion purchases over the past few years,” Mr Engeman said. “Given the similarities, I’m not surprised Bitcoin sales have been dominated by this group as well.”

Mr Engeman said both Bitcoin and bullion have intrinsic value through rarity.

“Gold requires a tonne of rock to be mined and processed to get about two grams of product, which means supply grows at only 2 per cent a year,” he said. “Likewise, there are only 21 million bitcoins that will ever be in existence, and the digital mining required to produce them takes cost, time and effort.

“Another similarity between the two is that gold and silver are traditionally one of the very few investment classes that are uncorrelated to traditional financial markets. Gold tends to be a safe-haven investment that increases in value as financial markets decrease. There is growing evidence that crypto is becoming another form of safe-haven investment.”

As part of the set-up process, Ainslie Bullion engaged Lucas Cullen who is Brisbane’s leading expert on Bitcoin and runs the Bitcoin Brisbane user group.

“It’s a complicated product and not many experts in the space,” Mr Cullen said. “Ainslie now provide a safe and easy platform for people wanting to get into Bitcoin or wanting to use Bitcoin to diversify.

“The proof is in the pudding, just look at the price of Bitcoin over time. The numbers don’t lie, no matter your opinion of the technology.”

Bron: Couriermail