Reeds Jewelers Accepting Bitcoin as Payment

(IDEX Online News) – US retail chain Reeds Jewelers has announced that it will be accepting bitcoins as payment at its 64 stores and on its website. The retailer said it is the first fine jeweler to accept the digital currency.

In addition to fine jewelry and watches, Reeds said it is also allowing customers to use bitcoins to buy gold ingots and GIA-certified diamonds.

In order to make purchases with bitcoin, customers must have a bitcoin wallet. The retailer said it will accept bitcoin payments at all of its physical locations using digital tablets.

Reeds’ CEO and president Alan Zimmer said the digital move was “a natural evolution.”

The chain has created a bitcoin information center on its website, which contains information about how customers can make purchases with bitcoin.

According to bitcoin.org, at the end of August 2013, the value of all bitcoins in circulation exceeded $1.5 billion, with millions of dollars of bitcoins exchanged daily. Processing bitcoin transactions is much cheaper for merchants than using credit cards, which could see the digital currency increase in popularity.