Royal Mint Gold was a digital gold currency and a cryptocurrency backed by gold reserves in the UK Royal Mint. The Royal Mint began testing blockchain transactions in April 2017.[1][2] The first test transaction was in August 2017.[3] The rollout was originally scheduled to occur by the end of 2017.[4][5] US-based CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) was tentatively set to administer the trading.[1][5] At the time, The Daily Telegraph said it "appears somewhat similar to an exchange-traded fund such as ETF Securities Physical Gold".[5]
The project collapsed in 2018, when CME pulled out and the UK Royal Mint was hesitant to find a new partner.[6]
Implementation
editThe blockchain used is the Prova open-source distributed ledger. A proof-of-stake algorithm demonstrates ownership of the physical gold.[7] BitGo provided blockchain code.[8]
Backing gold
editThe Royal Mint stated, that "All gold is held within the highly secure storage facilities in The Royal Mint's vault and The Royal Mint acts solely as sub-custodian and has no claim on the gold" and that gold delivery would be possible, with additional fabrication fees for amounts less than a London Good Delivery bar (400 oz, worth about US$400,000 on January 31, 2018).[7]
Cancellation
editAround October 25, 2018, the UK Government cancelled the Mint's plans to issue cryptocurrency, after a change in management at CME led the group to pull out and left the UK Royal Mint without a trading venue.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Anna Irrera (April 11, 2017), CME Group, Royal Mint test blockchain-based gold trading platform, Reuters, archived from the original on September 20, 2017
- ^ "Blockchain could add lustre to gold market", Straits Times, Singapore, August 18, 2017
- ^ Teresa Rivas (November 3, 2017), "Bitcoin $11,000? Expect Blockchain-Based Gold Trading Soon", Barron's
- ^ New currency in race to remake one of world's oldest markets, Bloomberg, August 17, 2017 – via The Economic Times
- ^ a b c James Connington (4 December 2016), "Buy Royal Mint gold using Bitcoin tech - via your Isa firm", The Daily Telegraph, London
- ^ "Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold". Reuters. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ^ a b FAQ, Royal Mint Gold official website, accessed January 31, 2018
- ^ An Open Source Blockchain, CME, April 11, 2017
- ^ Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold, Reuters, October 25, 2018
Further reading
edit- Shelley Goldberg (December 22, 2017), How Blockchain Could Revolutionize Commodity Markets: The technology has already been adopted for gold trading, but could be extended to other sectors in the asset class., Bloomberg
- Lucas Mearian (February 9, 2018), "Governments eye their own blockchain cryptocurrencies", Computerworld
External links
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