Royal Mint Gold

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". The Fintech Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ "Blockchain could add lustre to gold market", Straits Times, Singapore, August 18, 2017
  4. ^ Teresa Rivas (November 3, 2017), "Bitcoin $11,000? Expect Blockchain-Based Gold Trading Soon", Barron's
  5. ^ New currency in race to remake one of world's oldest markets, Bloomberg, August 17, 2017 – via The Economic Times
  6. ^ a b c James Connington (December 4, 2016), "Buy Royal Mint gold using Bitcoin tech - via your Isa firm", The Daily Telegraph, London
  7. ^ Hobson, Peter (October 26, 2018). "Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold". Reuters. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  8. ^ a b FAQ, Royal Mint Gold official website, accessed January 31, 2018
  9. ^ An Open Source Blockchain, CME, April 11, 2017
  10. ^ Wary of crypto, UK government blocks Royal Mint's digital gold, Reuters, October 25, 2018

Further reading

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