Royal Mint taps blockchain technology to offer gold trading

The project should kick off from the middle of 2017 when state owned Royal Mint hopes to start accepting trades on its platform, which will log each transaction using blockchain. The market will be underpinned by up to USD 1bn in gold bars, or around two tonnes at current prices, which will be stored in the Mint’s vaults near Cardiff, according to The Telegraph.

The Royal Mint and CME have spent about a year trying to adapt the technology to use in the gold market, where the methods of physically buying and selling the commodity have remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years.

Both parties are yet to decide who will have access to the open blockchain ledger, and the companies are talking to financial intermediaries they hope will sell the gold to customers. Buyers will be allowed to store their gold for free with the Mint.