| | NOVEMBER 29th, 2016
“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
– Terry Pratchett
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History meets innovation.
The UK’s Royal Mint, which for centuries has been trading gold and minting coins, is building a blockchain-based gold trading platform in partnership with US derivatives exchange CME Group.
The project aims to offer a more efficient way to invest in physical gold. The plan is to issue up to $1bn of Royal Mint Gold, which will be backed by gold bars stored in the institution's vaults. The Royal Mint will then assign ownership, and allow clients to trade that ownership on a blockchain run by CME.
The Royal Mint and CME are currently seeking input from industry participants, and the platform could become operational as early as next year. (Read the full story).
Wait, there's more:
· Blockchain trades. Financial technology firm Calypso is working with blockchain consortium R3 to build a capital markets application on the Corda distributed ledger. The app will focus on trade matching and confirmation, and aims to increase transparency and streamline dispute resolution. Read more.
· Bitcoin discounts. Although merchant participation and media interest are both down, Bitcoin Black Friday – now in its fifth year – continues to be a showcase for the niche market of bitcoin-first businesses. Read more.
· More patents. MasterCard has filed four new patent applications focusing on authorising, securing and processing blockchain-based transactions. These applications indicate that MasterCard is seriously looking at combining blockchain technology with its current operations. Read more.
· Keep it up. Bitcoin has been trading above $500 for six consecutive months now, the longest stretch of time in its history that the price has remained above that level. Does this mean bitcoin is becoming less volatile? Read more.
· Big Four innovation. The Swiss branch of EY, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, will accept bitcoin payments from January 2017. In a move to encourage familiarity with digital currencies, it is also installing a bitcoin ATM at its Zurich office, and offering digital wallets to its employees. Read more.
· German securities. Germany’s central bank and stock exchange company Deutsche Börse have built a new blockchain prototype for digital asset trading. The project is at the moment functional but not ready for market, and will lead to further testing of transfer and settlement. Read more.
· Exchange protection. A Japanese insurance company is developing a policy for bitcoin exchanges that would offer limited compensation in the event of a hack or cyber attack. This coverage could both broaden bitcoin’s use, and reassure regulators. Read more.
BTC: $732.37 +0.0%
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