Bitcoin
$61,155.92-4.20%
Ethereum
$2,974.72-3.72%
Binance Coin
$545.89+0.28%
Solana
$131.89-5.19%
XRP
$0.48994737-1.54%
Dogecoin
$0.14594992-6.51%
Toncoin
$5.87-10.59%
Cardano
$0.44313443-2.84%
Shiba Inu
$0.00002187-3.18%
Avalanche
$33.90-2.73%
Tron
$0.10970775-2.94%
Wrapped Bitcoin
$59,989.14-6.21%
PlayIconNav
Crypto Prices CoinDesk 20 Index CoinDesk 20 Index
Consensus 2024Price Increase Extension Ends In
02
DAYS
13
HR
26
MIN
46
SEC
Markets

UK Royal Mint Says Market Conditions Led to Blockchain Gold Plan Freeze

The U.K. Royal Mint has suspended its plans to issue the Royal Mint Gold token, aimed at helping investors track and manage their gold investments.

By Nikhilesh De
AccessTimeIconOct 25, 2018 at 4:05 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 8:31 a.m. UTC
(itti ratanakiranaworn/Shutterstock)

(itti ratanakiranaworn/Shutterstock)

10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

The U.K. Royal Mint has suspended a long-running plan to create a crypto asset representing physical gold holdings.

Citing anonymous sources, Reuters reported Thursday that the Royal Mint had frozen its plans to issue Royal Mint Gold (RMG) tokens after its partnership with the CME Group fell through and the U.K. government "vetoed a plan to have the tokens trade on a cryptocurrency exchange."

A Royal Mint spokesperson confirmed that RMG will not be launching at this time, though they left the door open to restarting the project in the future.

The spokesperson said via email:

"Over the last few years, The Royal Mint has been working on the development of a digital gold product, RMG, which was due to launch this spring. Sadly, due to market conditions this did not prove possible at this time, but we will revisit this if and when market conditions are right."

RMG was initially scheduled to launch in the fall of 2017, but the CME partnership failed "at the last minute," resulting in the Royal Mint no longer having a trading platform to issue tokens on. While the organization tried to find a crypto exchange to partner with instead, the British finance ministry reportedly blocked the move.

The RMG token was later scheduled to be issued in spring of 2018, but this again did not work out.

RMG was envisioned as a way to manage small amounts of gold, making it easier for investors to enter the market and increase liquidity. The Royal Mint also believed the blockchain platform RMG was based on could be used to track and prove a piece of gold's provenance, as well as support global trades.

Crypto security firm BitGo was tapped to build digital wallets for storing the tokens, while Civic would provide know-your-customer (KYC) services for the project.

A request for comment to CME was not immediately returned.

Gold image via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.