Goldcorp Embracing Digital Gold, Placing 3K Ounces On New Market
(Kitco News)- In its continued bid to bringinnovation to the precious-metals sector, one of the world’s biggest goldminers has embraced a new blockchain-based digital marketplace.
Goldcorp (NYSE: GG, TSX: G) announced Thursday thatit placed 3,000 ounces of gold, valued at $4 million, in Tradewind Inc.'s newlylaunched digital market, VaultChain. Tradewind described the investment as the“genesis block,” the first block in a blockchain, representing a tremendousmilestone for the technology and the sector.
“Goldcorp will be able to sellgold directly to dealers and banks using the Tradewind platform, expandingaccess to a new market structure and a highly efficient, electronic pricing andliquidity venue,” the company said in a press release.
“We are excited to be an investorin Tradewind and participate in the launch of VaultChain, a cutting-edgetechnology that integrates physical gold into a blockchain,” said DavidGarofalo, president and chief executive officer at Goldcorp. “We believephysical gold stored on a blockchain will increase the utility of the commodityand, ultimately, drive value in the price of gold. We are thrilled to be anearly adopter of this 21st century platform and deposit its first bar of gold.”
Garofalo added that blockchaintechnology and the new VaultChain exchange has the potential to revolutionizethe gold market in the same way exchange-traded products did more than 10 yearsago.
Matthew Trudeau, president andco-founder of Tradewind, said that Goldcorp’s investment in VaultChaindemonstrates the miner’s leadership and vision as an innovator within the goldmarket. He has said that he also expects that the technology has the potentialto revitalize an industry that is seen by many as outdated.
Over the years, the mining sectorhas struggled to attract investor attention. Many market analysts have notedinvestors have ignored the mining sector in recent years, turning to moreexciting markets like cryptocurrencies.
“Our platform enables thedigitization of precious metals, beginning with gold. We believe this creates amodern, technology-driven means to own and trade physical gold that will beattractive to a new generation of investors that are digital natives,” saidTrudeau in an email to Kitco News. “We believe that our technology will enablegold producers like Goldcorp to overcome existing limitations and move into theelectronic age.”
Goldcorp was an early backer ofTradewind, which has been developing its digital exchange for nearly two years.Tradewind won investment capital from the mining giant in 2017 when it was afinalist in the inaugural #Disruptmining showcase.
The exchange has also receivedsupport from another gold-market heavyweight. According to reports, Sprott Inc.owns about 20% of the exchange and is expected to be an authorized dealer onthe platform.
Tradewind was created as aspinoff company from IEX Group, which made headlines in mid-2016 after itlaunched a new equity exchange that incorporated delay in its platform for alltrades. The concept behind the “speed bump,” was to level the playing fieldbetween high-speed trading algorithms and average investors.
The gold that is now on theexchange came from Goldcorp’s Red Lake Gold Mines complex. The gold trading onthe new exchange will be vaulted with the Royal Canadian Mint.
By Kitco NewsFor Kitco News
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