The first vertically integrated gold tokenization project

As the global demand for gold remains strong and the asset’s price has reached all-time highs, investors face a difficult choice between various gold investment vehicles. Traditional methods for investing in gold come with a number of drawbacks. Physical gold incurs substantial buy and sell fees, gold futures require advanced financial literacy, while gold-backed cryptocurrencies often lack reliable reserve audits, or their sources of gold are opaque.

IPMB: bringing together gold and cryptocurrency

The International Precious Metals Bullion Group (IPMB) combines vast experience in the gold industry with opportunities provided by blockchain technology to offer a novel approach to gold investing that is reliable and cost-efficient. By controlling the crucial steps of the supply chain, IPMB offers favorable pricing and transparency for investors in its gold-backed GoldPro Token (GPRO) and GEM NFTs. 

A recent report published by Cointelegraph provides insight into this precious metals project. It gives an overview of the challenges gold tokenization solutions face, from physical gold issues to providing liquidity and backup guarantees for digital tokens. The report discusses an in-house solution developed by IPMB to track the gold supply chain, its GPRO token fully collateralized by gold, and the gold-backed GEM NFTs. The report concludes with an overview of the IPMB ecosystem and its future development plans.                       

Inefficiencies in the gold market

The supply chain for physical gold relies on multiple intermediaries, which results in price premiums that are ultimately borne by investors. Furthermore, physical gold investments incur premiums at purchase and come with substantial buy/sell spreads, as well as custody fees of up to 1% per year. (Figure 1).

In addition to increased costs, complex gold supply chains make it easier to disguise the origin of gold ore and hide unethical mining. For instance, Ghana, a leading gold producer, has faced criticism for unregulated artisanal mining, which harms the environment and often infringes on human rights.

Streamlining the gold supply chain

In contrast to most existing gold tokenization solutions that rely on third-party supplies, IPMB co-owns gold mining facilities in Ghana and controls the entire gold ore delivery process. As a result, IPMB eliminates unnecessary intermediaries and achieves transparency and sustainability for the whole supply chain.  

The forthcoming launch of the Goldtrace360, an in-house tracking solution designed by IPMB, will automate the tracking process and significantly reduce latency. Goldtrace360 will utilize IoT technologies to record every step in the gold production process on the blockchain.

Introducing gold-backed GEM NFTs

GEM NFTs are digital promissory notes IPMB offers for investment grade 24-karat gold. GEM NFTs are ownership titles for gold bars on the Polygon blockchain. They range from 1 gram to 12,500 grams to cater to a wide range of potential investors.

GEM NFTs can be obtained by staking GPRO, the native token of the IPMB ecosystem on the Polygon blockchain. While GPRO tokens are 1:1 backed with gold, their price remains free-floating.

To obtain an NFT of a specific denomination with a discount, the user must stake a corresponding number of GPRO tokens for a period of between three and 12 months. Longer staking is rewarded with a higher discount. If 100 GPRO tokens are staked for 12 months, 89 GPRO will be converted into a GEM NFT and 11 GPRO will be returned to the user. A limited number of NFTs are allocated to staking each month (Figure 2).

If the user triggers GPRO to GEM NFT conversion at the end of the staking period, GPROs get burned. At the same time, the GEM NFT gets assigned a unique 24-karat gold coin or bar and a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) serial number, which is also reflected in the NFT metadata.

GEM NFTs that are at least one year old can be redeemed for physical gold, and the redemption is free of charge for NFTs of over 100 grams of gold in denomination. If not redeemed, NFTs stay free of insurance, custody or management fees for the first five years following the mint date.

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