Company:Royal Mint Gold

From HandWiki
Royal Mint Gold
IndustryBlockchain
Cryptocurrency
Defunct2018

Royal Mint Gold was a digital gold currency and a cryptocurrency backed by gold reserves in the UK Royal Mint. The Royal Mint launched a digitized token called RMG, representing one gram of physical gold per token, in 2016.[1] It began testing blockchain transactions in April 2017.[2][3] The first test transaction was in August 2017.[4] The rollout was originally scheduled to occur by the end of 2017.[5][6] US-based CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) was tentatively set to administer the trading.[2][6] At the time, The Daily Telegraph said it "appears somewhat similar to an exchange-traded fund such as ETF Securities Physical Gold".[6]

The project collapsed in 2018, when CME pulled out and the UK Royal Mint was hesitant to find a new partner.[7]

Implementation

The blockchain used is the Prova open-source distributed ledger. A proof-of-stake algorithm demonstrates ownership of the physical gold.[8] BitGo provided blockchain code.[9]

Backing gold

The 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).[8]

Cancellation

Around 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.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Manisha Patel (December 4, 2018). "Whatever Happened to Royal Mint Gold?: The Rise and Stall of British Blockchain Innovation". https://thefintechtimes.com/royal-mint-gold-british-blockchain/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Anna Irrera (April 11, 2017), CME Group, Royal Mint test blockchain-based gold trading platform, Reuters, https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blockchain-gold/cme-group-royal-mint-test-blockchain-based-gold-trading-platform-idUKKBN17D2RL 
  3. ↑ "Blockchain could add lustre to gold market", Straits Times (Singapore), August 18, 2017, http://www.straitstimes.com/business/blockchain-could-add-lustre-to-gold-market 
  4. ↑ Teresa Rivas (November 3, 2017), "Bitcoin $11,000? Expect Blockchain-Based Gold Trading Soon", Barron's, https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-11-000-expect-blockchain-based-gold-trading-soon-1509738927 
  5. ↑ New currency in race to remake one of world's oldest markets, Bloomberg, August 17, 2017, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/60099008.cms 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 James Connington (4 December 2016), "Buy Royal Mint gold using Bitcoin tech - via your Isa firm", The Daily Telegraph (London), https://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/gold/buy-royal-mint-gold-using-bitcoin-tech-via-isa-firm/ 
  7. ↑ Hobson, Peter (2018-10-26). "Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gold-cryptocurrency-royal-mint-idUSKCN1MZ1SZ. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 FAQ, Royal Mint Gold official website, accessed January 31, 2018
  9. ↑ An Open Source Blockchain, CME, April 11, 2017, http://openmarkets.cmegroup.com/12212/blockchain-changing-gold-markets 
  10. ↑ Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold, Reuters, October 25, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gold-cryptocurrency-royal-mint/wary-of-crypto-uk-government-blocks-royal-mints-digital-gold-idUSKCN1MZ1SZ 

Further reading

Template:Digital gold currencies



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