[Japanese translation] Purchase diamonds with Bitcoin: Going against retail stores' move away from Bitcoin

Right now I’m not involved with diamonds except for blade sharpening, but since it was an interesting topic, I translated it into English.

Buying Diamonds with Bitcoin: Defying Retailers’ Move Away from Bitcoin

According to a new report by JP Morgan, published by Bloomberg and Business Insider, the acceptance rate of Bitcoin, the world's leading digital currency, at retail is at an unprecedented low.

Among the top 500 internet portals, only three accept Bitcoin, a decrease from five sites last year. The aforementioned report says this drop is an phenomenon that “clearly contradicts” the explosion in Bitcoin's price in 2017.

Trade Diamonds with Bitcoin

A notable move opposing this trend is Samer Halimeh New York, the international jewelry brand, announcing it will become the world’s first diamond dealer to transact and sell in Bitcoin, and even a jeweler at a level equivalent to Bond Street (London’s luxury shopping district).

Headquartered in Manhattan with a flagship store in London, the brand plans to use BitPay as its retail service provider. Customers will be able to open a Bitcoin wallet on this online portal to manage the Bitcoins used in transactions.

In inter-business transactions, Samer Halimeh New York will accept Bitcoin as a payment method for the purchase and trade of diamonds. For consumer sales, the brand will accept Bitcoin as a payment method for gemstones and individual diamonds and will quote gemstone prices in BTC to customers.

This move is a strategic response to rising demand from customers over the past eight months. The customers are mainly from Asia and the Middle East, requesting to purchase diamonds with Bitcoin.

According to a Samer Halimeh executive, such requests reflect that more people want to convert some of their Bitcoin holdings into tangible real investments such as diamonds, gold, works of art, and fine wines to diversify their funds.