Page 17 - Bullion World Volume 3 Issue 9 September 2023

Bullion World | Volume 3 | Issue 9 | September 2023

acceptable to invest in and firmly believe can provide the the entire industry must work
own, and I see a time when necessary robust technology our together to establish a global
if your gold is not part of this industry needs. digital standard to which all
ecosystem, you will need to be participants can adhere.
concerned. • Global adoption of the bullion
integrity database is also the • Standardising gold into a fully
• And I see a time when the need critical foundation for a more gold backed digital format, that
to be part of the ecosystem accessible and fungible market removes risk, lowers barriers
becomes such a necessity to that will unlock greater demand. to entry, improves participation
sell your gold, that markets and lowers the capital cost for
currently available for illegally • But there is more work to do institutional investors, must be
produced gold or mined by with respect to adoption and our goal.
exploited children decline to implementation across the entire
nothing. industry and consequently, I am • This will de-fragment the market,
currently working with my Board, increase transparency, trust,
• And so, and in that context, all 33 large scale mining CEO’s, participation and demand for
the WGC have set out to solve towards adoption and leverage gold.
for gold Integrity, Accessibility of this platform to bring greater
and Fungibility – known as transparency to gold dore flows • We are, in essence, working to
GOLD247. from mine to refiner. remove the very reasons I was
forced to close the Credit Suisse
• Firstly Integrity – the LBMA and • We are confident that Axedras operation.
WGC have partnered to develop will sign up more participants
and implement an international from across the global gold • There’s a sea of institutional
system of gold bar integrity. supply chain to join the money waiting for gold to be an
blockchain based database and easy investment and waves of
• Last year we worked with international system of integrity. young future investors waiting
over 30 participants globally, to buy and invest in gold when it
representing the gold value • With the integrity foundation mirrors other top class financial
chain to trial the technology in place, we are now turning assets.
proving that the industry can our attention to solving for
collaborate to find a shared accessibility and fungibility. • Just imagine the new-use cases,
solution to a shared problem. such as collateralization and
• The gold market must undergo funding, waiting for a digitalized,
• The integrity programme will a digital transformation fungible and easy to use gold.
use blockchain to create an to allow transparent and
exhaustive, immutable database effortless 24-7 retail and • And to my last point -
for all gold, and the aim is to wholesale transactions. This Governance. The entire value
expand the trusted, closed-loop means removing barriers to chain needs to draw together
ecosystem which currently exists participation at both a retail as one to chart the next 5, 10,
for the 400oz gold bar market, and institutional level and the 25 year journey and discuss
to incorporate smaller bars introduction of a modern market topics such as Integrity, ASM,
including kilo-bars. infrastructure. Recycling – even hand carried
gold.
• This will help consumers, • As I mentioned, the current
investors and all market global market structure is hugely • It is necessary for each market
participants trust that their fragmented and prevents gold participant, to put differences to
gold is authentic, responsibly from being an easily tradeable one side, and work together to
produced and sourced. and globally transferable grow the whole gold-market pie.
financial asset.
• Adoption of this database is the • We have before us a great
critical foundation for a more • Digitalizing the gold industry and opportunity.
accessible and fungible market market infrastructure is essential
that will unlock greater demand. to solving this challenge. • Technology has finally given
• In order for gold to be us the chance to place gold
• In this context, the WGC has accessible and fully fungible, alongside all other mainstream
invested in Axedras, whom we

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