Commodities
CoinShares Issues Gold-Backed DGLD Tokens
CoinShares made a splash across the tokenization community this week after announcing a new gold-backed token network. The network will allow investors to take advantage of the stability of gold, whilst still enjoying the added security and efficiency of a blockchain-based system.
How CoinShares New Platform Works
According to CoinShares’ executives, each token represents physical gold. To be exact, each DGLD token is backed by 1/10 Troy ounce. This gold is held by one of Switzerland’s premier precious metal traders MKS SA.
MKS SA – Swiss Precious Metals Trader
For their part, MKS SA will hold the gold reserves and allow for third-party auditing to occur. In total, the firm put aside just over $20 million in gold for the tokenization strategy. Notably, MKS SA already hosts a large precious metal trading network. Consequently, tokenizing their gold provides far more liquidity than traditional EFTs.
PIT Exchange Hosts CoinShares DGLD Tokens
Speaking on the new tokenization strategy, CoinShares’ Chairman, Danny Masters explained the advantages of the maneuver. For one, gold is considered one of the most stable assets on the planet. Now combine that stability with the security of a blockchain network, and you get a frictionless trading system that has the capabilities to function internationally.
Eliminates 3rd Parties
Masters also discussed how CoinShares eliminates many of the third-party verification systems encountered when investing in Gold EFTs. Each of these verification steps adds costs and time to the total transaction. Now investors can eliminate these delays and save money on fees.
Gold on Bitcoin Blockchain – CoinShares
CoinShares decided to utilize the Bitcoin blockchain as its core anchor for the platform. This was a smart strategy as Bitcoin is the largest and most secure blockchain on the planet. To make the concept a reality, CoinShares incorporated CommerceBlock’s Ocean sidechain.
Sidechains Are the Biz
Sidechains such as Ocean, Liquid, or the Lightning Network allow users to conduct faster transactions with fewer fees. Also, these second layer protocols enable developers to utilize additional functionalities not found on the original Bitcoin blockchain.
Smart contracts are a perfect example of how sidechains benefit Bitcoin. Technically, Bitcoin’s blockchain can handle smart contracts but it’s far less capable than the robust capabilities found in the Ocean sidechain.
Partnered with BTC Wallet Provider – Blockchain
Another key component of the venture is a strategic partnership with the crypto wallet provider Blockchain. Blockchain needed to create a means for investors to store their gold-backed crypto easily and efficiently.
Available Now
CoinShares’ new gold-backed token is open to both retail and institutional investors. Currently, the product is available in 200+ countries via Blockchain’s crypto exchange – PIT. Notably, the platform requires AML and KYC adherence as part of the company’s regulation-friendly approach to the market.
CoinShares
CoinShares is ready to provide clients with a stable alternative in the crypto sector. The firm has years of experience connecting traders with profitable tokens. Now, CoinShares wants to take its experience and enter the tokenized precious metals markets in a major way. You can expect to see more headlines from these developers as CoinShares’ strategy unfolds over the coming weeks.
CoinShares Group, the digital asset management firm took another step forward in establishing the presence of digital assets in the institutional investing space.
CoinShares Launches New Digital Asset Index
The CoinShares Group announced the launch of the Coinshares Gold and Cryptoassets Index (CGCI). This is the first index that has exposure to a digital asset and is also compliant with the EU Benchmark Regulations (EU BMR).
A huge milestone for cryptoassets, as Bitcoin which is often touted as the digital version of gold as an asset class, becomes an integral part of a financial product for institutional investors that seek to have exposure to digital assets.
Moreover, the pairing with gold in this index is done to combine the high volatility of cryptoassets with the low volatility of the precious metal. The risk profile of the index is smoothed out considering that there is no high correlation between gold and Bitcoin, according to CoinShares Group.
The index methodology maintains a basket of 5 equally-weighted cryptoassets weighted against gold. There is no fixed list of cryptoassets eligible for being included, but the criteria is based on 6 month-rolling market capitalization and excludes any ERC-20 tokens and privacy-focused cryptoassets.
The financial product goes through a re-balancing process, which occurs monthly, with the cryptoasset basket rebalances to include the top 5 eligible market cap weighted cryptocurrencies as of the time of rebalancing. The calculation of the index relies on Kaiko cryptocurrency market data along with Messari’s supply data – two leading data providers in the digital asset space.
Meanwhile, the weights between the cryptoasset basket and gold is determined based on a weighted-risk allocation scheme.
The development of the CGCI resulted from research conducted between CoinShares and Imperial College London, published in 2019, identifying that the pairing of gold and cryptoassets delivers a risk and return profile that is superior to holding either alone.
Cryptoassets Paired with Gold for Better Risk-Reward Profile
The index methodology was created from the research and experimentation conducted with the EU registered benchmark administrator, Compass Financial Technologies to ensure a robust and benchmark compliant index. As the first EU BMR compliant index, the CoinShares Gold and Cryptoassets Index is also live on popular financial data providers like Bloomberg Terminal and Refinitiv.
There are already several options for institutional investors to get exposure to cryptoassets, but with the high volatility of the market, investors may shy away from committing. This new weighted pairing with gold – one of the assets that is known to have a low volatility – allows investors to enter the digital asset space and benefit from higher returns while minimizing their exposure to volatility risk.
The CoinShares Group already has a great track record in the cryptocurrency space with several financial products which include the first regulated Bitcoin hedge fund and the first exchange-traded Bitcoin product.
Daniel Masters, Executive Chairman of CoinShares believes this is a major step forward for the digital asset space drawing parallels with the institutional adoption of commodities, stating:
“Robustly researched and documented index products were the catalyst for institutional adoption of commodities in the late ’90’s through the advent of the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index. This crypto and gold index aims to do the same, by using academic research and its benchmark regulated status to pass muster with even the most stringent investment committees.”
The Evolving Space of Digital Assets
The digital asset space has been longing for the attention of institutional investors for some time. In the last couple of years there have been several incursions by big institutions into cryptoassets. Established traditional financial institutions like Fidelity or ICE have launched separate entities for the digital asset industry since then.
However the crown jewel for the crypto space remains to be an approved Bitcoin ETF by the SEC, which would cement the asset’s place in its separate category. Nonetheless this goal seems to be as elusive as two years ago.
Several applications from different asset management firms have been rebuffed by the regulatory authority, and each one of them citing reasons related to the supply side of the cryptocurrency market – the lacklustre custody options, the inaccurate price data and uncertainty over exchange volumes.
Even though the cryptocurrency space developed ever since and more custody solutions appeared for institutional investors, and data providers seem to have built more robust price indices, there is no talk of progress towards approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
Maybe the key lies in the demand – when there is a sufficiently high institutional demand for digital assets, regulators may quickly change their tune.
CoinShares is part of this cohort of companies working to improve the infrastructure for digital asset financial products. With this new product, the company not only has the potential to generate institutional demand for cryptoassets, but also blazes a trail for further product innovation for others in the space.
ZiyenCoin has some big plans for the energy sectors moving forward. The firm seeks to integrate both blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to reduce costs for investors and consumers. This week, the company also announced plans to host an STO to further its US market positioning.
This news showcases a strong push by the energy sector to enter the blockchain space. In the past, there have been numerous blockchain energy platforms. Most of these systems tokenized electricity. It was only a matter of time before this highly-effective business model branched out into other sources within the energy sector.
Ziyen Press Release
News of the STO first broke via an October 15, 2019 press release. In the post, Ziyen Inc.’s CEO, Alastair Caithness details some of the firm’s new strategies, including important STO information for investors.
ZiyenCoin CEO Alastair Caithness via Podcast
According to Caithness, Ziyen Inc. decided to create a new subsidiary solely focused on blockchain and IoT development in the oil sector. ZiyenCoin is the new firm tasked with tokenizing the oil sector moving forward.
Additionally, Caithness explained that Ziyen is no stranger to the market. For the last couple of years, the company worked closely with many of the largest players in the oil market.
At the same time, Ziyen expanded its holdings. Originally, in 2016, Ziyen entered the market as a software company focused on providing helpful information to energy investors. The company’s data was critical for oil, gas, power, and energy sector investment firms.
Ziyen Energy
In 2017 the firm pivoted to the holding oil assets under the subsidiary Ziyen Energy. Today Ziyen Energy controls 18 oil assets based in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The company wants to expand its market penetration with plans to secure and develop smaller oil fields across the US in the coming year. The STO will fund these ventures.
ZiyenCoin STO
The ZiyenCoin STO is open to both US and Non-US investors. Interestingly, Ziyen filed its STO as a 506c Security Token Offering with the SEC. This is the same filing as JPM Morgan’s token the JPM Coin.
Current Ziyen shareholders can convert their shares to tokens as well. The ZiyenCoin is an SEC-compliant security token. As such, US investors are required to adhere to AML and KYC protocols.
Excitement
Speaking on the news, Dave Rogers, Ziyen Inc. board member, and product strategist described the excitement surrounding the event. Notably, Rogers gave some unique insight into being a shareholder during a period of tokenization.
He explained that at first, he was confused as to the benefits tokenization brings to the table. Today, Rogers is part of the Ziyen team where he lends his 25+ years of experience to the company’s goal of tokenizing the oil sector.
ZiyenCoin – Oil on the Blockchain
Ziyen isn’t the first company to envision a more robust blockchain-based energy sector. There are already multiple solar and electricity-based platforms in use. Uniquely, the firm is one of only a few oil-based companies making the upgrade to a blockchain-based system at this time. You can expect to hear a lot more about ZiyenCoin in the coming months as its STO continues to draw investors.
Sustainable Energy
Clean and renewable energy: The concept is simple, however, the execution is anything but. In an effort to aid the continued development and adoption of sustainable energy, worldwide tech giant, Siemens, has turned to a popular blockchain service provider – Swarm.
Today, this pairing of companies announced that Swarm has been tasked with developing an efficient, and effective, solution to facilitate the funding of energy projects in Africa. This task will be completed through use of the company’s recently announced premium tokenization service, Swarm Capital.
While details regarding the partnership are still scarce at this time, this is most definitely a positive announcement. Not only does it mark continued early adoption of Swarm Capital, but also the entrance of a global titan of industry in Siemens, into the world of blockchain.
Swarm Capital
Announced mere weeks ago, Swarm Capital is a service provider platform, offering premium services through a modular platform. This platform, which is built on the Swarm protocol, is meant to be a comprehensive solution for any company looking to tokenize an asset.
SWARM Announces ‘Swarm Capital’ Service Provider Platform
Commentary
In their partnership announcement, the team at Swarm took the time to comment on why blockchain is a good fit with future energy solutions through Siemens. They stated,
“One of the most compelling use cases for tokenization is in the energy sector, which has been brought to the fore lately in public discussions concerned with energy accountability, transparency, and sustainability. The energy industry is abundant with potential use cases — from the tokenization of energy itself to the digital representation of carbon emissions.”
Swarm
Swarm is a U.S. based company, which was launched in 2018. In the time since, the team at Swarm has developed a myriad of services and solutions for the digital securities sector, including specialized token standards, open protocol, and more.
Cofounders, Philipp Pieper and Timo Lehes, currently oversee company operations.
Siemens
Founded in 1847, Siemens has withstood the test of time, establishing themselves as a world leader in manufacturing and tech industries. The company has done this by continually looking towards, and planning for, the future – as evident by the partnership described here today.
CEO, Joe Kaeser, currently oversees company operations.
In Other News
For a few years now, we have seen various companies attempt to integrate green energy and blockchain. We have, in the past, detailed multiple companies that fall into this camp. While integrating blockchain and green energy in a different manner than the development discussed here today, the following articles demonstrate another avenue in which the two sectors can coincide.
CoinMint – Efficient, Green Mining
Elite Mining – The Future of Mining is Green