E-gold is a gold digital currency and online payment system operated by e-gold Ltd since 1996 that allows the transfer of money between e-gold account holders. It is also a way to invest in gold and precious metals. A little under 2.4 million e-gold accounts in existence today.
The e-gold payment system offers a variety of currencies, e-metals “, namely e-gold, e-silver, e-platinum and palladium-e, which represents a claim gold, silver, platinum and palladium, respectively. Among them, e-gold is by far the most popular e-metal in the system. Users May take physical delivery of the precious metal on the payment of additional fees. However, most Users allow the operator to retain possession of the metal. or e-transactions are completed electronically, usually on the Internet, and they always pay by the weight of metal, even if denominated in another way.
Even if the e-gold does not advocate a particular political agenda, for example, freedom does Dollar, e-gold can be seen as a libertarian money because it is not subject to government policy in the same manner as the Federal Reserve changes the value of the dollar.
Convenience
Credit card egold is seen by proponents as an alternative to traditional forms of payment, which in some cases (especially in online transactions), may be less effective or more costly. The e-gold system (and other digital currencies), provides a system where transactions clear instantly. This is in contrast to checks or credit card transactions which when used could take days for funds to be deducted from an account. Also, unlike other on-line payment systems such as PayPal, there are no distinctions between commercial and non e-gold accounts. As such, all e-gold accounts carry the same fees and have the same capacity to receive and transmit e-gold holdings.
Asset Protection
Proponents of the e-gold system contend that e-gold assets are protected against inflation, devaluation and other economic risks inherent in Fiat currencies. These risks include what are perceived by e-gold that the promoters of actions by national governments and central banks that diminish the value of assets held in currencies Fiat. In addition, many proponents of e-gold system believe that e-gold offers a truly international and decentralized which is the currency vis-à-vis central bank of a country or territory.
There is also no way to reverse transactions, even in cases of self or error unauthorized passer (see below). e-gold employment conditions stipulate that all passwords are final and e-gold can not be held liable for any spending. In this regard, an e-gold spend more akin to a cash transaction while PayPal transfers, for example, could be considered more similar to credit card transactions.
Disadvantages
Compared to other systems like PayPal, the process of buying e-gold can be confusing to someone unfamiliar with e-gold system. Unlike some operators of digital currency, e-gold Ltd. does not sell digital currency directly to the user. Instead, many third parties to sell services to exchange e-metal in exchange for money for a percentage of transaction fees. Conversely, these exchanges suppliers to sell fiat currency in exchange for an e-metal, for a percentage of transaction fees. In this way, e-metals can be converted back and forth to a variety of Fiat currencies of various countries. The amount of a currency or e-metal necessary to complete a transaction is determined by the then current price of the metal compared to the value of the currency.
Security and Fraud
As an online service, e-gold is vulnerable to various threats, including phishing (for example, fake e-mails asking for login information) and spyware. Recently, a Trojan horse specially created compromised “dozens” to “low hundreds.” e-gold accounts. Although the Trojans usually in silence save the login information of the user unsuspecting, the Trojan horse in question (Win32.Grams) emptied the accounts themselves by transferring the contents (probably) to ‘attacking the account.
e-gold has also been known to the medium of choice for online with many con artists. Pyramid and fraudulent investment programs are commonplace. This is apparently due (at least in part) to e-gold maintaining its policy of irreversibility of e-gold transactions.
Many e-gold exchange providers also require a high level of identification, in many cases, the same level if not higher than most banks. In comparison, processors such as PayPal and StormPay allow users to easily create accounts and only to request identification to increase maximum daily spend limit.
Backup
e-gold, according to e-gold site, “100% backed by gold” There is no way of knowing whether the e-gold Ltd. has real gold in the currency back in e-gold system. e-gold is to maintain an “examiner”, a web page with updated statistics on liabilities and the total amount of each precious metal in its operations. While developers generally ensure that rather, critics remain skeptical.
In addition, since all e-gold is backed by a physical basis, it is subject to price fluctuations that occur naturally on this product. This can be a major problem if there is a sudden increase in the supply of gold and you’re holding or e-currency, the value of your currency just fallen, you’ve lost money. This may, however, in both directions. Proponents of e-gold system would say that the risk of sharp fluctuation of prices is low compared to the perceived risk of fluctuations in currency value between fiat currencies.