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Blockchain-Based Gold Settlement Is Coming to London

48 points by dustinmoris 10y ago

anaolykarpov 10y ago
It means that I'll be able to buy gold just like I'm able to buy bitcoin? and instead of physically storing gold I'll have the tokens and will be able to get physical gold for them whenever I want? Does this means that the demand for gold (and implicitly its price) will soon increase?
- replies_to_all 10y ago
  Yes, you can now buy gold like you buy bitcoin. No, a rise in gold demand is not implied by this, gold is already much easier to buy than bitcoin.
- cloakandswagger 10y ago
  This concept of notional gold that can be redeemed for physical bullion has existed for a while (see: Xetra-Gold). Adding a blockchain for tracking redemptions doesn't fundamentally change the service. And just like companies like Xetra-Gold, it doesn't address the chiefmost concern: You have no assurance that your fund actually has the gold they claim they do. They might be "renting" the physical bullion out and running a fractional reserve system, in essence a giant Ponzi scheme.
- stri8ted 10y ago
  Reminds me of the USD
lightedman 10y ago
So, moving from fiat crypto to gold standard crypto? I love how everything eventually comes full circle.
- brighton36 10y ago
  It's turtles all the way down
- CyberDildonics 10y ago
  How does this comment make any sense at all? Bitcoin etc. aren't fiat settlement systems, they are currencies that have active exchanges. Using a blockchain for a settlement would mean a ledger of keys that should match 1:1 with the gold held by a company.
  - lightedman 10y ago
    "Using a blockchain for a settlement would mean a ledger of keys that should match 1:1 with the gold held by a company" If I were to open up a mine and dump several tons of gold on the market, your 1:1 bitcoin value disappears entirely. I think you should check out why we moved away from a gold standard in the first place - it was too subject to supply pressures.
    - CyberDildonics 10y ago
      Once again, you are confusing a floating currency with a company using a blockchain technique for more transparent and safe book keeping of their gold inventory.
      - lightedman 10y ago
        "Once again, you are confusing a floating currency with a company using a blockchain technique for more transparent and safe book keeping of their gold inventory." You're purposely ignoring basic economic principles required to understand the gist of my comment. Spend some time doing day trading in the metals market and you'll see how a blockchain isn't going to help with keeping gold inventory straight when the prices are tied up. This is gold settlement, not simple inventory tracking, so this is a much more complex issue than you're trying to make it out to be.
alexfisher 10y ago
Digix is another interesting blockchain/gold project being built on Ethereum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbgMoJVIzk&feature=share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbgMoJVIzk&feature=share
kitsune_ 10y ago
Does this company have any 'official' relation to Paxos, the consensus protocol? This sounds like an incredibly unfortunate and potentially misleading name. Addendum: I'm by no means an expert on this subject, but are't all those fintech startups that dabble in 'permissioned block chains' and 'distributed ledgers' without incorporating bitcoin's proof of work / public p2p nature effectively just selling rebranded distributed databases? In that light the name Paxos would be even more comical.
- kanzure 10y ago
  > Does this company have any 'official' relation to Paxos, the consensus protocol? This sounds like an incredibly unfortunate and potentially misleading name. "Then they join the proud list of all the other poorly named companies in the bitcoin ecosystem including the likes of coinbase, blockchain, consensys, chain, decentral, 21, asicminer, ledger, bitcoin.com, and elliptic." - some other comment, i don't remember the source
brighton36 10y ago
Why is this interesting? What is the net efficiency being achieved here? Will this gold be cheaper due to reduced settlement costs, or is blockchain just the buzzword du jour that increases your VC funding.
- elcct 10y ago
  I think this is the latter, but would be great if someone could shed some light. I saw a surge of companies not necessarily known for having interest in Blockchain hiring people having related knowledge.
- jgalt212 10y ago
  From my dabblings the in the fintech space, it certainly seems that if you're trying to sell a ledger a service these days and you don't use Blockchain, you will not get funding and/or any press mentions.
cheiVia0 10y ago
Failing startup trying to pivot? http://www.coindesk.com/itbit-exodus-populating-startups-blockchain-expertise/ http://www.coindesk.com/itbit-exodus-populating-startups-blo...

48 points by dustinmoris 10y ago

It means that I'll be able to buy gold just like I'm able to buy bitcoin? and instead of physically storing gold I'll have the tokens and will be able to get physical gold for them whenever I want? Does this means that the demand for gold (and implicitly its price) will soon increase?

replies_to_all 10y ago
Yes, you can now buy gold like you buy bitcoin. No, a rise in gold demand is not implied by this, gold is already much easier to buy than bitcoin.
cloakandswagger 10y ago
This concept of notional gold that can be redeemed for physical bullion has existed for a while (see: Xetra-Gold). Adding a blockchain for tracking redemptions doesn't fundamentally change the service. And just like companies like Xetra-Gold, it doesn't address the chiefmost concern: You have no assurance that your fund actually has the gold they claim they do. They might be "renting" the physical bullion out and running a fractional reserve system, in essence a giant Ponzi scheme.
stri8ted 10y ago
Reminds me of the USD

lightedman 10y ago

So, moving from fiat crypto to gold standard crypto? I love how everything eventually comes full circle.

brighton36 10y ago
It's turtles all the way down
CyberDildonics 10y ago
How does this comment make any sense at all? Bitcoin etc. aren't fiat settlement systems, they are currencies that have active exchanges. Using a blockchain for a settlement would mean a ledger of keys that should match 1:1 with the gold held by a company.
- lightedman 10y ago
  "Using a blockchain for a settlement would mean a ledger of keys that should match 1:1 with the gold held by a company" If I were to open up a mine and dump several tons of gold on the market, your 1:1 bitcoin value disappears entirely. I think you should check out why we moved away from a gold standard in the first place - it was too subject to supply pressures.
  - CyberDildonics 10y ago
    Once again, you are confusing a floating currency with a company using a blockchain technique for more transparent and safe book keeping of their gold inventory.
    - lightedman 10y ago
      "Once again, you are confusing a floating currency with a company using a blockchain technique for more transparent and safe book keeping of their gold inventory." You're purposely ignoring basic economic principles required to understand the gist of my comment. Spend some time doing day trading in the metals market and you'll see how a blockchain isn't going to help with keeping gold inventory straight when the prices are tied up. This is gold settlement, not simple inventory tracking, so this is a much more complex issue than you're trying to make it out to be.

alexfisher 10y ago

Digix is another interesting blockchain/gold project being built on Ethereum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbgMoJVIzk&feature=share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbgMoJVIzk&feature=share

kitsune_ 10y ago

Does this company have any 'official' relation to Paxos, the consensus protocol? This sounds like an incredibly unfortunate and potentially misleading name. Addendum: I'm by no means an expert on this subject, but are't all those fintech startups that dabble in 'permissioned block chains' and 'distributed ledgers' without incorporating bitcoin's proof of work / public p2p nature effectively just selling rebranded distributed databases? In that light the name Paxos would be even more comical.

kanzure 10y ago
> Does this company have any 'official' relation to Paxos, the consensus protocol? This sounds like an incredibly unfortunate and potentially misleading name. "Then they join the proud list of all the other poorly named companies in the bitcoin ecosystem including the likes of coinbase, blockchain, consensys, chain, decentral, 21, asicminer, ledger, bitcoin.com, and elliptic." - some other comment, i don't remember the source

brighton36 10y ago

Why is this interesting? What is the net efficiency being achieved here? Will this gold be cheaper due to reduced settlement costs, or is blockchain just the buzzword du jour that increases your VC funding.

elcct 10y ago
I think this is the latter, but would be great if someone could shed some light. I saw a surge of companies not necessarily known for having interest in Blockchain hiring people having related knowledge.
jgalt212 10y ago
From my dabblings the in the fintech space, it certainly seems that if you're trying to sell a ledger a service these days and you don't use Blockchain, you will not get funding and/or any press mentions.

cheiVia0 10y ago

Failing startup trying to pivot? http://www.coindesk.com/itbit-exodus-populating-startups-blockchain-expertise/ http://www.coindesk.com/itbit-exodus-populating-startups-blo...