In the latest episode of Bitcoin Builders, BSV Association’s Brett Banfe had the opportunity to sit down with WorldVest Chairman Garrett K. Krause to discuss TroyMoney. TroyMoney, a subsidiary of WorldVest, aims to tokenise vaulted gold and other precious metals on the blockchain. It does this by creating a series of precious metals-backed digital investment currencies to become part of the future of money.
The innovation of blockchain technology married with the real intrinsic value of gold and other precious metals allows for the reintroduction of gold and precious metals as a private new ‘metals as money’ monetary system separated from Government control and offering instant liquidity back to any global fiat currency.
TroyMoney together with an innovative smart contract protocol on the BSV blockchain aims to lead the innovation and development of a new global ‘metals as money’ initiative as a viable alternative to the current system of holding fiat currencies and CBDCs, which have a long history of consistently proven devaluation over time due to inflation and uncontrolled money printing.
Working with small-scale miners
Krause noted that his background is in technology before moving into traditional mining, and he owns several precious metal mines in Guinea, which include Gold and Lithium mines. He then developed an interest in blockchain technology powering Bitcoin and how it could and how it can be used to back real-world assets.
He added that despite being traded for centuries, it is quite difficult to buy and trade physical gold as a retail investor today. ‘The everyday guy – even if they are high net worth – doesn’t have direct access to buy physical gold.’ With ongoing inflation issues and systemic concerns with the banking system, Krause realised that now was the time to offer tokenised gold and other precious metals on the BSV blockchain.
‘Launching TroyMoney at this time is a way for investors to buy, sell and own gold, platinum, silver and palladium. It is a simple use case, but to make that valuable you have to trust somebody. By tying physical assets like gold to the blockchain, you have what we call a trusted counterpart.’
Built with the BSV blockchain and Tokenized
TroyMoney’s wallet and platform are constructed upon Tokenized, with its parent company, WorldVest, having acquired an equity stake in Tokenized as part of its commitment. The ownership of TroyMoney gold is associated with an individual’s identity rather than their private keys.
This ensures that your physical asset is always safeguarded. In the event of any issues with your tokens, they can be temporarily frozen, or re-issued, a new wallet can be created, and your gold will be restored.
Moreover, the wallet can monitor both short-term and long-term capital gains, and it can calculate any tax obligations, responding to the user’s tax requirements. It seamlessly extracts all pertinent information from the blockchain to generate reports that users can utilise for their tax filings.
According to Krause, maintaining one’s savings in a traditional bank account is becoming less attractive due to the erosive effects of inflation. In contrast, TroyMoney gold, with plans to introduce silver, platinum, and palladium, is securely stored in Brinks vaults located in either NYC or Zurich, and StoneX serves as the liquidity provider.
While there’s always some degree of counterparty risk inherent in such arrangements, these providers were selected due to their trustworthiness and the stable financial environments they operate. Additionally, the TroyMoney ecosystem has the potential to incorporate other physical commodities, including potentially more volatile assets like barrels of oil.
Different from other offerings
TroyMoney offers a user-friendly onboarding process that accommodates both cash and various digital assets, allowing users to choose the type of value they prefer. Once funds are settled in the account, users enjoy the convenience of easily purchasing gold at the current market price, selling gold with the same ease, or withdrawing their money with the option of an Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment the following day. This affords users excellent liquidity, making it straightforward to enter or exit positions and engage in trading activities.
Setting TroyMoney apart from its competitors is the unique capability for users to secure (fiat) loans against their account balances. In cases of unexpected and costly emergencies, TroyMoney customers have the option to borrow up to 80% of the value of their balance at interest rates equivalent to those offered by traditional banks.
The funds are typically dispersed within just a few hours, eliminating the need to liquidate precious metal assets. Notably, this swift process stands in stark contrast to similar endeavours involving other valuable assets such as real estate, where the timeline for accessing funds is considerably longer.