Royal Mint Gold

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

The 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

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).[7]

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.[9]

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References
  1. Anna Irrera (April 11, 2017), CME Group, Royal Mint test blockchain-based gold trading platform, Reuters
  2. "Blockchain could add lustre to gold market", Straits Times, Singapore, August 18, 2017
  3. Teresa Rivas (November 3, 2017), "Bitcoin $11,000? Expect Blockchain-Based Gold Trading Soon", Barron's
  4. New currency in race to remake one of world's oldest markets, Bloomberg, August 17, 2017 – via The Economic Times
  5. James Connington (4 December 2016), "Buy Royal Mint gold using Bitcoin tech - via your Isa firm", The Daily Telegraph, London
  6. "Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold". Reuters. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  7. FAQ, Royal Mint Gold official website, accessed January 31, 2018
  8. An Open Source Blockchain, CME, April 11, 2017
  9. Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold, Reuters, October 25, 2018

Further reading
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