Is it cheaper to buy gold with Bitcoin? Crypto vs wire vs card at 14 dealers (2026)
Buying gold with Bitcoin is cheaper than paying by card at several big US dealers, and more expensive than paying by bank wire. On October 16, 2026 the 1 oz SD Bullion gold bar cost $4,329.87 in Bitcoin, $4,286.57 by check/wire and $4,465.18 by card/PayPal. Bitcoin was $135.31 (3.0%) below the card price and $43.30 (1.0%) above the wire price.
What our data shows
We track 14 dealers that accept crypto. Here is how the crypto price compares with card and wire at each, counted from our dealer data:
- Crypto beat the card price at 7 of 14 dealers. Six publish a crypto discount taken off the card price: JM Bullion, SD Bullion, Bullion Standard, Hero Bullion, Silver Gold Bull and Provident Metals. The seventh, Kitco, publishes no discount; the count rests on one day's sample of its listed prices (October 16, 2026), where Bitcoin was about 3.0% below card.
- Crypto lost to the wire/check price at 8 of 14 dealers: the same 7, plus BGASC. BGASC takes 3% off its list price for crypto and 4% for wire/check, but doesn't say how its list price compares with card, so it isn't in the card count. Kitco is again counted from the one-day sample (Bitcoin about 1.0% above wire/check).
- Crypto beat the wire/check price at 0 of 14 dealers.
- At 6 of 14 dealers we can't compare: APMEX publishes a 3% crypto discount but not which price it comes off, Money Metals Exchange states no discount, and Bullion Exchanges, SchiffGold, Sharps Pixley and Ainslie don't publish a crypto or wire discount we could confirm.
At the 7 dealers that publish both a crypto and a wire/check discount, the crypto discount is 2% or 3% and the wire/check discount is 4%. Including Kitco's one-day sample, Bitcoin lands between the reference price (card or list) and wire at all 8 dealers we can compare.
Crypto discount by dealer
The table shows each dealer's published crypto discount, the price it's taken off, and the bank (wire/check) discount for comparison. "unknown" means the dealer's own pages didn't confirm it.
| Dealer | Crypto discount | Measured against | Wire/check discount | Crypto vs card | Crypto vs wire | Coins accepted | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainslie (Ainslie Crypto) | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, others (see dealer) | ainsliecrypto.com.au |
| APMEX | 3% (BTC, BCH, ETH) | unknown (APMEX doesn't say which price) | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, BCH, ETH, WBTC, DOGE, LTC, SHIB, APE, MATIC, GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI, BUSD, EUROC | apmex.com |
| BGASC | 3% | list/retail price | 4% (off list price) | unknown (card price vs list not stated) | 1 point more expensive | BTC, WBTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, DOGE, GUSD, USDC, PAX, DAI, BUSD | bgasc.com |
| Bullion Exchanges | unknown | unknown (dealer says prices differ by payment method) | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, DOGE, SHIB, GUSD, USDC, PAX, BUSD | bullionexchanges.com |
| Bullion Standard | 3% | full list price (the card/PayPal price) | 4% (off list price) | 3% cheaper | 1 point more expensive | BTC, BCH, ETH, WBTC, DOGE, LTC, SHIB, APE, MATIC, GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI, BUSD, EUROC; Lightning via BitPay | bullionstandard.com |
| Hero Bullion | 2% | credit/debit card price | 4% | 2% cheaper | 2 points more expensive | BTC, other BitPay coins (list not published) | herobullion.com |
| JM Bullion | 3% | credit/debit card and PayPal price | 4% (off card price) | 3% cheaper | 1 point more expensive | BTC, BCH, ETH, WBTC, DOGE, LTC, XRP, POL, GUSD, USDC, PAX, DAI, BUSD | jmbullion.com |
| Kitco | not stated | not stated; we compared listed prices | unknown | about 3.0% cheaper (sampled listing) | about 1.0% more expensive (sampled listing) | BTC | online.kitco.com |
| Money Metals Exchange | none stated | dealer says crypto payments "come with a modest transaction fee" | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XMR, USDC, DASH (from a 2017 dealer post) | moneymetals.com |
| Provident Metals | 3% | card/PayPal price | 4% | 3% cheaper | 1 point more expensive | BTC, BCH, ETH, USDC, other stablecoins | providentmetals.com |
| SchiffGold | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, BCH, ETH (last verified Oct 16, 2026; its crypto page returned 404 on Oct 17) | schiffgold.com terms |
| SD Bullion | 3% | credit/debit card price | 4% | 3.0% cheaper (sampled listing) | 1.0% more expensive (sampled listing) | BTC, BCH, ETH, other BitPay coins (full list not published) | sdbullion.com |
| Sharps Pixley | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | BTC, BCH, ETH, XRP, USDC, GUSD, PAX, BUSD | sharpspixley.com |
| Silver Gold Bull | 3% | card price (cards get no discount) | 4% (wire/cheque, per its Canadian site) | 3% cheaper | 1 point more expensive | BTC, BCH, WBTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC, SHIB, APE, EUROC, GUSD, USDC, USDP, USDT, DAI, BUSD, PYUSD | silvergoldbull.com |
Dealers are in alphabetical order. Seven dealers list BUSD; BUSD issuance ended in 2023, so check with the dealer. Links in this table are plain links to dealer websites, not affiliate links (disclosure).
Two price examples
SD Bullion and Kitco both list a separate price for each payment method, so you can see the gap in dollars.
| Product (Oct 16, 2026) | Check/wire | Bitcoin | Card/PayPal | Bitcoin vs card | Bitcoin vs wire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD Bullion 1 oz gold bar, qty 1-4 | $4,286.57 | $4,329.87 | $4,465.18 | $135.31 less (3.0%) | $43.30 more (1.0%) |
| Kitco gold coin (sampled listing) | $4,344.20 | $4,388.08 | $4,525.21 | $137.13 less (3.0%) | $43.88 more (1.0%) |
In both examples the wire price is 4.0% below the card price, matching the 4% bank discount that 7 of the 14 dealers publish.
What a 1-point gap costs
At a dealer that takes 3% off the card price for crypto and 4% for wire, an order with a $10,000 card price costs $9,700 in crypto and $9,600 by wire. The wire buyer pays $100 less.
Some costs sit outside the discount. Bullion Standard says in its FAQ network fees are paid by the customer, and Silver Gold Bull asks you to include network fees in your payment. JM Bullion says on its payments page it converts crypto to USD instantly and pays refunds in crypto at the new rate. JM Bullion and Silver Gold Bull both give you 15 minutes to pay the crypto invoice.
Dealers not in the table
Three more dealers are in our data but not counted above. Bitgolder is flagged: on October 16, 2026 it listed a 1 oz American Gold Eagle at $3,916.13, below that day's gold spot price of about $4,191/oz (FindBullionPrices). It also sells only for crypto, so there is no card or wire price to compare. Ounceo didn't load when we checked. Goldmoney left the crypto business in March 2019.
How we got these numbers
Every figure comes from the dealer's own payment, FAQ or product pages, linked in the table and on each dealer page. A dealer's crypto discount is only meaningful next to the price it's taken off, so we show both. Where a dealer states no discount but lists a price per payment method (Kitco, SD Bullion), we show the sampled prices. The counts above include only dealers where the dealer's own pages give both figures; anything else is "unknown". We never estimate. Full details are on our methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to buy gold with Bitcoin than with a card?
At 7 of the 14 dealers we track, yes. Six publish a crypto discount of 2% or 3% off the card price, and Kitco's listed Bitcoin price was about 3.0% below card in our October 16, 2026 sample. The other 7 don't publish enough to compare.
Is Bitcoin cheaper than a bank wire for buying gold?
Not at any dealer we track. At 8 of the 14, the wire or check price is lower than the crypto price, usually by 1 to 2 points. At the other 6 we couldn't compare.
Why can't some dealers be compared?
APMEX publishes a 3% crypto discount but not which price it comes off. Money Metals Exchange states no discount. Bullion Exchanges, SchiffGold, Sharps Pixley and Ainslie don't publish a crypto or wire discount we could confirm. We mark those unknown rather than estimate.
Terms change often. Confirm the price at checkout. This page compares published payment terms only and isn't financial advice.