Daily Gold Market Report

Blockchain Meets Bullion
HSBC’s New Platform for Tokenized Gold Ownership

(USAGOLD – 11/2/2023) Gold is trading slightly higher on Thursday after the the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged yesterday. Gold is trading at $1,990.02, up $7.49, and Silver is trading at $23.03, up 9 cents. HSBC, a leading bullion bank, has launched a groundbreaking initiative to modernize the London gold market by utilizing blockchain technology, Bloomberg reports. One token on HSBC’s new system is equivalent to 0.001 troy ounce, compared with 400 troy ounces for a London gold bar, the bank said in a statement. Given HSBC’s significant standing in the global bullion market, this venture into blockchain-based gold trading is anticipated to be influential.

The traditional gold market in London has depended on manual record-keeping and over-the-counter trades, leading to a rather tedious process. With the integration of blockchain technology, HSBC aspires to speed up and simplify this system, allowing clients to seamlessly monitor their gold ownership on the platform. As we reported in September about The Gold Bar Integrity Platform, an initiative started by the World Gold Council and LBMA, HSBC’s engagement in blockchain isn’t isolated; other financial giants, such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Euroclear, and Goldman Sachs, are also adopting distributed ledger technologies, indicating a broader trend toward mainstreaming blockchain in finance.