Industry | Blockchain Cryptocurrency |
---|---|
Defunct | 2018 |
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]
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]
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]
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]