The idea of investing in gold may seem old-fashioned, but there’s actually a great deal of value in investing in gold as opposed to other assets. Not only does it offer an opportunity to diversify investments, but it also allows investors to hedge against inflation.
This is especially valuable in periods of economic downturn. When the prices of things like stocks and shares drop, the value of gold tends to maintain more stability, making it a far safer option than some of the more mainstream alternatives.
That being said, however, there are also plenty of dodgy dealings that happen in the gold trading industry, especially when it comes to investment schemes. Thus, there’s a great deal of potential for making good, profitable investments in gold, as long as you’re cautious and are aware of how to make the best possible decisions.
Investing In Gold: How Does it Work?
There’s no single way to invest in gold – in fact, there are plenty of different ways in which it can be done, ranging from gold mining funds and gold-based crypto to purchasing actual gold bars.
- Physical Gold: Purchase physical pieces of gold in the form of coins, jewellery or bars. You can choose to either store it yourself or pay a vault service for secure storage.
- Digital Gold: You can buy gold via online platforms. This is ideal because you don’t have to del with storage, but you do still need to pay for it.
- Gold EFTs: Buy shares in funds that trade at gold-based prices. While this is an investment that involves gold, you won’t own any actual gold.
- Gold Mining Stocks: Invest in a company that mines gold. The only problem with this is that companies are still vulnerable to general market volatility.
- Gold-Backed Cryptocurrency: Purchase crypto that is linked to physical gold. This makes it super secure (due to blockchain technology) and it’s fast too. However, one con to consider is that you’ll have to deal with blockchain volatility.
Top 8 Startups for Investing in Gold
Not only are there different ways in which you can choose to invest in gold, but there are also plenty of different startups that specialise in being able to help you do so safely.
Here are the top 8 startups for investing in gold.
1. Minted
Minted, founded in Istanbul in 2018, is the developer of a gold trading platform that’s designed to allow users to buy gold in monthly installments rather than upfront. Essentially, the platforms purchase the gold on behalf of the consumers at really good prices and then resells it at affordable rates.
The company does this through an online account with a mutually decided installment payment rate. The purpose of this method is to make buying gold more affordable and accessible who can’t put forward massive amounts of money upfront.
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2. Troygold
Troygold is a provider of financial and banking services that are backed by gold. The purpose is to allow customers to buy, sell or borrow against gold by means of its gold digitisation-inked financial products and services technology.
The company was founded by Bastiat Viljoen and Dane Viljoen (current CEO and CSO respectively) in 2018. Troygold was launched in Stellenbosch just outside of Cape Town in South Africa.
3. Goldex
Based in London, Goldex is the developer of a gold trading platform that works with allocated physical pieces of gold. The platform allows people to buy, sell and store gold by means of charts as well as trade recommendations.
In addition, Goldex also offers a payment card that is backed by physical cold and doesn’t require cash to be preloaded onto it. This allows customers to make transactions with gold at prices that are fair and by means that are convenient.
4. Vaulted
Vaulted is an investment app that can be used to purchase both gold and silver. The app allows users to buy valuable metals easily and conveniently, and it helps hedge market instability and take delivery just about anywhere.
Based in the United States, Vaulted offers users exceptional safety and security as well as guidance from industry experts if necessary.
5. Goldmoney
Goldmoney is involved in precious metal bullion trading, custody and storage and the manufacturing of jewellery. The company offers affordable prices for the storage of gold and it currently safeguards more than $2.8 billion worth of precious metal assets for clients based in more than 100 different countries.
When you purchase gold via Goldmoney, the company actually buys the gold in the name of the purchaser meaning that they are the actual owner. With Goldmony, clients aren’t exposed to counterparty risk and the investment value isn’t dependent on things like exchange-traded fund (ETF), contract for difference (CFD) or even commodity futures.
6. HelloGold
Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, HelloGold is the developer of a mobile application that allows users to buy, save, sell and redeem actual gold in the most effective, affordable and efficient way possible.
Users are given the opportunity to purchase and store gold online, or they can choose to take actual possession of the gold. From here, it can be sold at the current exchange rates.
The company was founded by Ridwan Abdullah and Robin Lee in 2015.
7. Bullion Vault
Bullion Vault is an online brokerage platform that provides access to cost-effective, secure and accessible market in professional-grade bullion. The platform allows individuals to own and trade in metals including gold, silver and platinum in their own name.
Furthermore, individuals also have access to deep liquidity, low costs and super high security of the whole precious metals market. Overall, Bullion Vault allows individuals to trade in bullion securely and efficiently.
8. Glint Pay
Glint Pay is the developer of a mobile gold payment app. The company aims to reintroduce gold as a global currency, allowing users to buy, save, exchange and send multiple currencies including gold. Users can also use a MasterCard debit card to spend the funds. Essentially, this allows gold to be used for everyday payments for the ultimate convenience.
The company was founded in 2015 and is based in London.
