London bullion dealer Sharps Pixley will allow customers to pay for gold and other precious metals using digital currency bitcoin, the company said on Tuesday.
Sharps Pixley, which last year opened Britain’s first showroom making gold coins and bars available to private investors in London’s elite district of Mayfair, said it would offer the service though payment processor BitPay.
Bitcoin is the world’s most popular cryptocurrency and enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services outside the regulated financial system.
Its dollar value has more than tripled this year but it remains highly volatile.
Prices fell this month from almost $5,000 (£3723) to a low of less than $3,000 after JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon called it “a fraud” and China cracked down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
“Many investors in Bitcoin would like the option of holding intrinsic value in a traditional safe haven asset like gold; and be able to switch across in a simple and cost effective way,” said Sharps Pixley chief executive Ross Norman. “That avenue is now open to them.”