It has been fun to read the discussion about physical bitcoins. I know the thread is old, but I still wanted to reply, just to show that physical bitcoin is still being produced and provide helpful information as a response to some of the comments in this post. It is more of a summary of answers to comments placed in this post.
- Cassasius was the first to produce physical bitcoins and was forced to stop selling loaded physical bitcoins on Nov 27, 2013. Mike Caldwell was the first to produce a physical bitcoin with actual bitcoin loaded unto the coin.
- Coinfirm.org has made a list with 65 different physical bitcoin companies. Only a few of them have the concept of storing bitcoin on the coin. Many are just coins with a bitcoin theme mint.
- At this moment a lot of these companies on the list are out of business. Weve identified that Infinitum coins and Denarium are the only ones having real physical bitcoins in stock. Please let us know if there are other companies we have not found producing physical bitcoins with BTC storage that have coins in stock.
- If you type Physical bitcoin into google, you find that Denarium is one of the first search results.
On eBay, you can find different designed physical bitcoins. These are coins with a bitcoin design. They have no way of storing bitcoin.
- Physical Bitcoins are good for storing BTC long term. Denarium sells loaded coins and empty coins. We dont send loaded coins to the United States, because of regulation.
- We think that people are using the Denarium physical bitcoins to store BTC for the long term. We have seen an increase in BTC storage on our sold coins over the years./denarium.com/charts Weve extracted this chart with calculations from our public database and the public blockchain.
- They are very good to invest and save your bitcoin long term. Soon we will be releasing new products with even better security. We are planning to release coins in a resin mold for protection. It is possible to break the resin, but it is very hard.
- We know that about 594 BTC is stored in total in our coins.
- We cannot know for sure if the coins are being used as vouchers. Like Bitrefill, Fold, Gyft, and Opendime. Source:
https://bitcoin.org/en/resources. By that, we mean that people use our coins to make off-chain transactions with our coins.
- But it could be true that they are used in this way. You can give or pay for a service with a Denarium Bitcoin loaded with bitcoin. The person receiving can check from our database how much BTC is stored on the coin at that moment, and how much is the current equivalent in euros based on the current exchange rate. Database:
https://status.denarium.com/coin/- They are good for collecting. They are beautifully designed. Especially since we do sell a premium collection with silver and gold physical bitcoins as well.
- Physical bitcoins are safer than paper wallets since the private key is not visible and cannot be copied without damaging the hologram.
There have been many thefts from exchanges, online wallets, breaches in security of hardware wallets and theft from another physical bitcoin company. It is sad, but theft occurs. If we compare though the number of breaches/thefts stolen from exchanges, and online wallets compared to a physical bitcoin company and a few security issues in hardware wallets. It seems that your bitcoin is safer offline than online.
- Physical bitcoins provide: Safe storage, the possibility of off-chain transactions and are good for collecting.
- When you find a coin with a damaged hologram, there is probably no BTC stored any longer on the coin. It is then also not safe to store BTC any longer on the coin.
- This is because they have a tamper-evident security hologram on the back. The hologram shows you when the coin is spent. Check the condition of the hologram. If you see any honeycomb-like structure. The hologram has been removed. But to be sure: At the moment of transaction you can look up the coin in the Denarium database to see how much BTC is stored on the coin at that moment and how much is the value of that coin in euros at the moment of the exchange.
- There is an activation system at Denarium, which functions as an extra security check. When you buy a coin loaded or empty from us. You have the option to report that coin with a status of the condition of the hologram. (Good, damaged, missing) In that way, people are forced to check if the hologram is in good condition after travel, so that you know that once BTC is loaded on the coin, they are safe.
Resin coins are always safe and are never spent.
- Your bitcoins are on the blockchain, but the private key is never stored or extracted online.
- Spending the coins works through online importing, but there are ways to import your bitcoin offline.
- Spending offline is also possible when you make an off-chain transaction to use a coin to pay for a service or when you give them away.
- You do need to trust the physical bitcoin manufacturer. At Denarium we have never had a breach, close to 600 BTC is safely stored on our coins, we have been on the market since 2012 and producing physical bitcoins since 2015. If you are technical enough, you can choose to buy a coin from us with a multisig option. In that way, we sell a trustless coin. For spending the coin, you need to be quite technical. But it is possible.
- You will always need a wallet. Whether offline or online.
- In the online system there is much room for scams and theft.
- An off-chain transaction is in a way safer than using online wallets. Since the private key stays offline.
- There are added costs to share and store bitcoin. We have mining fees getting higher and higher, because of the cost of electricity.
- The online wallets, exchanges and other services also all charge an extra cost for the sending or receiving of bitcoin.
- Metal is mined for a lot more than just coins; Trees are cut for a lot more than paper money. I think our goal cannot be: a complete intangible world. This would be to disconnect from reality. The goal of bitcoin is more to get rid of the monopoly in the authorization of money.
