Buying digital gold online has been a frequent quest by many people in the last few years. Inflation and economic uncertainty have been some of the main reasons behind this, as people finally realize that gold is the real monetary commodity that will always remain the best store of value in hard times.
The following chart shows the price of gold over the last 5 years (USD):
That’s around a 78% increase in value in just 5 years without doing any other types of investment or trade movements. But nowadays, buying and selling physical gold is not an easy task. That's why purchasing digital gold has become a growing trend.
If you want to buy digital gold, then you are in the right place to do so, and this article will introduce you to the topic of digital gold, its advantages, disadvantages and how you can get it.
What is Digital Gold?
Digital gold, as its name suggests, is a digital representation of physical gold that belongs to someone, and that can be bought or sold using any of the digital tools.
Think of it like a traditional gold buying and selling process, but conducted entirely online, allowing you to invest in gold without the need to visit a gold merchant in person, physically handle the gold, or store it in a vault at home.
The terms for buying and selling digital gold vary according to the nature of the gold trade that you choose. For example, you can buy digital gold with methods like:
- ETFs (Exchange-traded funds) which provide gold investing options, making gold simply like any other stock that can be bought and sold on stock exchanges worldwide.
- Sovereign gold bonds (GSBs) that are offered by the state and which correspond to the price of gold in your local currency.
- Local banks in your country that support buying and selling gold directly from your bank account.
- International gold merchants like Phi Wallet that allow you to buy, store and sell gold digitally at any time, and even receive it physically.
We will explain why the last option is the best one when it comes to buying, selling and storing gold as a long-term value storage strategy.
Digital Gold Benefits and Advantages
Availability
Digital gold is always available to buy and sell, and you can do these operations with your fingers in a few seconds.
Monetary Nature
You can convert digital gold into your own local currency at any time, and then use it to buy and sell good
Safety
You don’t need to worry about the safety of your gold units under your bed, because that problem is now belonging to someone else who is responsible for that with an assurance that covers all of your assets in the case of digital gold.
No Wear-Out
Physical gold coins or units could become old after a certain time, and they need to be sold again before they can be fully used. No such thing exists with digital gold.
Store of Value
There could be ups and downs for your local currency, and it could be affected by inflation and other economic issues. Gold price, on the other hand, goes up most of the time. And even when it goes down sometimes, it stays up in value in the long term. Digital gold enables you to have easy access to this store of value.
Fractions
It’s hard to keep track of small physical gold units or coins, and it may not be possible to buy them in fractions.
Digital gold suffers from no such issues, and you can buy any quantity you want according to your own budget.
Physical Gold vs Digital Gold: Which should you choose?
The following comparison table demonstrates the differences between physical and digital gold, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. You will also see why buying gold from Phi Wallet is a better option:
| Criteria | Physical Gold | Digital Gold | Digital Gold from Phi Wallet |
| Physical Access | Full physical access if you buy gold on your own from a store. | No physical gold access. | Physical access is provided for gold reserves > 20 grams, and it can be mailed to you securely at almost any place in the world. |
| Fast buying and selling | Not available with physical gold. You will need to take your gold bullion on your own to the store if you wish to sell them. | Available at anytime. | Available at any time, and soon will be supported with a gold-backed debit card that is directly linked to your gold reserves. It also offers one of the lowest fees for using gold online. |
| Storage security | Storage and its associated risks are in your own hands. | Storage security of digital gold lies on the digital gold merchant. You must choose a high-quality and regulated one to make sure your funds are safe. | Security is guaranteed and 100% of your reserves are audited and regulated by law enforcement agencies. |
| Allocation | The gold you buy physically on your own is of course allocated to you. However, it’s hard to buy fractions of gold (e.g. less than 1 gram of gold) and you may need to pay a metal-shaping fee. | The digital gold you buy from other merchants may not be in fact allocated to you, and the real gold liquidity with the seller could be actually less than what they announce. | Any gold you buy from Phi Wallet is %100 allocated to you and is physically available at any time. Liquidity is regulated and guaranteed. |
| Restrictions | You are free to do what you want with your gold bullions or coins. However, it may be hard to sell some small parts of them, or use them for buying goods and services. | You can directly sell your gold reserves and use the money to buy digital goods or withdraw your funds. However, keep in mind that there may be high fees for such operations from the digital gold merchant. You may also be required to invest a large amount of money to be able to access some gold ETFs or funds. | No restrictions at all, and you can buy and sell gold of any quantity you want even if they were worth $1. |
| Authenticity | You have to be sure on your own of the type of gold that you are buying and its purity. There are many cases of fraud where the user supposedly buys gold, but in reality, it's tungsten or wolfram plated with gold, metals that have the same density as gold. In the case of ETFs. | It doesn't matter since the user isn't buying physical gold, they are purchasing a futures contract. | The entire gold reserve is LBMA-certified, so there is nothing to worry about. |
Buying gold from Phi Wallet, as you can see, has many additional benefits over other gold merchants. But perhaps the most unique one is that you are also buying a reserved physical gold unit that corresponds to your digital gold portfolio, and you can have physical access to it at any time you want.
This means that buying gold from Phi Wallet has the best of both worlds: Digital gold and physical gold.
Possible Risks of Digital Gold
Like all things, there could be some risks related to buying digital gold. One of them is related to the security of your gold assets. If you buy digital gold from a poorly secured seller or an unverified one, then you could be a possible victim of scams or other poor management practices, preventing you from unlocking the full potential of your gold reserves.
You will also need to have full Internet access all the time whenever you want to be in control of your gold reserves. Phi Wallet removes most of this headache by providing an audited and fully-regulated digital wallet to store, buy and sell your digital gold so that you always remain the sole owner of your gold, even if Phi Wallet as a company would disappear one day.
Conclusion
Gold is a unique store of value that has withstood the test of inflation across countless millennia and civilizations around the world. Bringing it into a digital form elevates its accessibility and usability in everyday life.
If you're interested in buying and holding digital gold, download Phi Wallet app to securely buy and manage your digital gold assets.
