DIGITAL GOLD

Securely Store and Make

payments in Gold

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................... 3

2. INTRODUCTION................................................... 5
2.1. The Potential of Blockchain Technology........................... 6

2.2. Blockchain Meets The Gold Market................................. 7

2.3. A Brief Description of the Digital Gold Token................... 7

3. THE DIGITAL GOLD PROJECT................... 9

3.1. The Features of Digital Gold........................................... 9

3.2. The Digital Gold Stablecoin............................................ 12

4. THE DIGITAL GOLD MARKETPLACE... 14

5. PROJECT ROADMAP.......................................... 15

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Digital Gold is a blockchain-based project, designed to encourage the
digitalization of the financial markets, and their afferent investment instruments.
It hopes to achieve this by enabling users to purchase coverage in physical gold,
via the ERC-20 Ethereum-based GOLD token.
The project holds numerous advantages for its users, the gold market, but also
for blockchain technology as a whole.
With this in mind, customers can use the platform to instantly purchase the
GOLD token, each coin being equal to one gram of 99.99% FINE gold that is
stored in the company’s vaults. As such, the tokens enable users to indirectly use
gold to make monetary transactions, or to leverage it as a wealth storage method.
This is achieved without requiring users to follow complicated procedures.
The token is pegged to the value of the gold spot price, thus also acting as a
stablecoin. This makes it useful for protecting against market volatility on the
cryptocurrency market, while also allowing users to benefit off long-term gold
price uptrends.
Liquidity is ensured at all times, granted that independent live audits can be
verified to cross-check the number of tokens in circulation, with the amount of
vault-stored gold.
The digitalization of gold is bound to also increase the worldwide appeal of the
precious metal, which has been sought for and used by mankind for thousands
of years. The cross-implementation between gold and blockchain technology
serves as yet another successful use case scenario, showcasing blockchain’s
potential in revolutionizing the financial market.
Speaking of blockchain, its application in the Digital Gold project allows for
several innovative features, including, but not limited to: instant, low-cost
transactions carried out via the Ethereum blockchain, immutability for all
confirmed transactions (no chargeback risk), overall network security and
protection from cyber-attacks, smart contract functionality (propping an instant
gold purchase for each token bought), market transparency, support for all ERC-
20 wallets, and support for trading the GOLD token on partner exchanges.
The GOLD token community can utilize the Digital Gold Marketplace to
instantly purchase and/or sale the token. As the parent company is also a
liquidity supplier, users are free to carry out as many transactions as they wish,

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with no additional costs apart from the yearly service fee and the general ‘gas’
cost for Ethereum-based transactions.
The Digital Gold project is not an Initial Coin Offering, as no crowdfunding
effort is being carried out. All operations are self-funded, thus any acquisition
of the GOLD token results in an instantaneous smart contract-based purchase
of physical gold.
The worldwide interest in the gold market is well-known, whereas the value of
gold Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) exceeds the $100 billion threshold. With
the GOLD token, the precious metal can now be more than a wealth storage
method and investment tool. With the help of blockchain, gold can now act as a
payment method for transactions of all types.

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2. INTRODUCTION
Over the last couple of years, the digital ecosystem was introduced to a smarter
and more efficient value management and storage system, referred to as
blockchain technology. Its entire implications upon society are not completely
understood at this moment, since the full potential of blockchain has not yet
been unveiled.
Blockchain technology is generally described as a decentralized, transparent,
immutable, shared and incorruptible database network that can be leveraged
to record and store value. The initial use cases of blockchain were limited to
digital currencies. The market fully appreciated its features, since it brings
decentralization to digital asset storage. This concept is essential to the success
of blockchain technology, granted that it prevents any central authorities from
editing the stored data. Transparency improves overall trustworthiness of the
network, whereas its cryptographic support allows for highly-secure, yet cheap
transactions to be carried out instantly.
For several years, blockchains were used solely to record cryptocurrency
transactions. Bitcoin’s rapid success and growth as the world’s most valuable
digital asset convinced people throughout the world that value could indeed be
securely stored online. It also opened up a box of possibilities, as most people
that are well-versed in blockchain agree that it can disrupt and revolutionize
most of the world’s industries. At this time, full-scale implementation is closer
than most people think, granted that governments, financial institutions, NGOs,
corporations, and start-ups are actively researching and developing blockchain-
based projects.
Gold, on the other hand, is one of the world’s oldest trading commodities, as
society has used it for thousands of years. During its long-span history, gold
served many uses. It acted as a superior payment method, trading commodity,
and excellent storage of value. Today, the prevalence of gold as a payment method
has decreased, yet people continue to seek it thanks to its low price volatility, and
excellent monetary storage potential. However, purchasing, storing and trading
gold is not for everyone. Complicated procedures, alongside high purchase
requirements have led to a decrease in gold usage by the general population. Its
relevance remains, however, and it is believed that gold will continue to play an
important role in the worldwide financial and asset markets.
Digital Gold represents a courageous and innovative project, meant to bridge
the gap between gold and the digital ecosystem. The purpose of this white paper
is to describe why and how blockchain technology can be leveraged to trade,
store and use gold, via a method that is easy to comprehend and carry out.
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2.1. The Potential of Blockchain Technology

At first, consumers had the tendency of associating blockchain technology

exclusively with digital currencies. This trend quickly changed, as more and
more people found that blockchain technology holds superior potential in
revolutionizing the entire financial market. Yet, this statement isn’t complete.
At this time, analysts, developers and business owners are quickly realizing
that blockchain technology can positively change most, if not all of the world’s
industries.
This section is dedicated to creating a more inclusive perspective on the overall
potential of blockchain technology, with focus being centred on the financial
market.
♦♦ The Financial Ecosystems

Billions of dollars move through the world’s financial institutions on a daily

basis. For decades, banks have been the sole providers of financial services, yet
this is actively changing with the appearance of new service-focused financial
entities that facilitate a variety of different transaction types.
The problem with the current financial system is that most of these entities offer
services that are too slow, too expensive, or too difficult to carry out. However,
blockchains can handle any and all types of financial transactions, as long as
blockchain-based services are implemented. Most of the world’s financial
institutions are researching, investing and developing blockchain systems,
meant to improve service efficiency, trust and features.
With time, implementations of this kind will lead to the appearance of a
worldwide, all-inclusive financial system, where money can be sent, stored
and received effortlessly, anywhere in the world. The financial investment
market will also profit off blockchain advancements, as these systems will allow
users to easily purchase assets, hold commodities, and engage with a variety
of financial tools. Blockchain-based systems that can scale and handle the
services mentioned above already exist, despite the fact that implementation
and worldwide adoption is taking longer.
♦♦ A trustworthy, fraud-free world market

Financial liberation is not the full gist of blockchain technology. Rather, this
technological revolution will facilitate the appearance of a worldwide market
where trustworthiness between transacting parties is no longer an exhausting
preoccupation.

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Any blockchain-based system that holds a user base, or is run on a blockchain
platform like Ethereum, is bound to be trustworthy for all users involved.
Decentralization, immutability and transparency make sure of this. As such,
this aspect is especially relevant when dealing with other financial instruments,
commodities and monetary assets like gold.

[Link] Meets The Gold Market

At this moment in time, the fintech market is home to several start-ups that offer
blockchain-based gold services. To put things into perspective, we will describe
several use cases that showcase how blockchain can positively influence the
gold market:
♦♦ Allowing gold to achieve consumer acceptance

Despite its high popularity, most people avoid gold-based investments due to
its inability of allowing for a monetary replacement. Generally, it is investors
mostly who choose to purchase gold, and use it to store their wealth. Prior to
our in-depth description below, it is important to point out that blockchain can
make gold tradable, and usable as a payment mechanism, thus removing the
restraints imposed on the market until now.
♦♦ Ensuring asset security

Another argument explaining why consumers do not usually purchase gold rests
in its high security concerns. As an extremely-valuable metal, most of those who
are interested in gold are not happy to store it in their homes due to a variety of
risks. On the other hand, blockchain-based gold tokens backed by physical gold
offer considerable security measures. As long as good digital security practices
are followed, digital gold cannot be hacked.
Blockchain also holds a potential use case scenario for improving the supply
chain of gold. While most of the world’s gold is accurately tracked, managed and
stored, the overall supply chain continues to deal with gold that has been illegally
mined, or used to carry out illegal financial operations. With a blockchain-based
system, newly-mined gold can be tracked from its first day, all the way to your
doorstep, while retaining all relevant information. However, this is only possible
with the cooperation of everyone involved in the industry.

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2.3. A Brief Description of the Digital Gold Token

The main purpose of the Digital Gold project, is to create an Ethereum-based,

ERC-20 token that users can leverage to easily buy, sell, trade, store, or transfer
investment-grade gold. These actions can be carried out conveniently and
securely, while preserving user anonymity.
It is essential to keep in mind that the ERC-20 GOLD token is backed by physical
gold, stored in the company’s secure vault. As liquidity is guaranteed, the token
takes the form of a stablecoin, since its price is directly linked to the current
gold spot prices.
Trust is easily attained by relying on the Ethereum blockchain platform,
well-known for its ERC-20 token support, and smart contract functionality.
Therefore, upon purchasing one GOLD token, users enter a smart contract
which ensures that the amount of tokens in circulation is always equal to the
amount of gold bullion the company stores in its vault. This way, users are fully-
protected from liquidity issues, as there will always be enough gold to cover all
tokens in circulation. Whenever they see fit, users can purchase, sell and trade
their gold with ease.
One GOLD token will allow users to purchase coverage of 1 gram of 99.99%
FINE gold. In terms of token prices, since the parent company is a liquidity
supplier, gold can be purchased at a price that is very close to current market
rates. Users are also allowed to carry out an unlimited number of transactions.
To help provide a superior degree of trust, all gold purchased via the GOLD
token is stored in the company’s secure vault, in partnership with BullionStar.
The Digital Gold project also aims to be transparent in regards to the current
amount of tokens in circulation, and the total amount of physical gold stored.
BullionStar also carries out audits of the vault, to determine the total amount
of gold being stored. Token users are welcome to check the live audit and vault
certificate for peace of mind.

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3. THE DIGITAL GOLD
PROJECT
Before focusing on the Digital Gold project in-depth, it is appropriate to give a
bit of perspective on why digitized gold is highly relevant for the cryptocurrency
market. Currently, the financial market holds several huge gold exchange-traded
funds (ETFs), with enormous amounts of funds. For instance, the SPDR Gold
Shares (GLD) currently has a market cap of over $36 billion, thus proving that
gold remains an attractive asset for people worldwide. The total value of the gold
market cap is difficult to determine, yet it exceeds the $100 billion threshold.
The sheer amount of capital invested into these funds, when compared to the
amount of gold that is purchased and stored, leads to a simple conclusion: The
general public is not keen on buying, storing and transacting physical gold.
The reasons backing this claim vary, yet many users are already accustomed
to the financial market as it is. Buying and storing actual gold leads to
complications, such as following strict legal procedures, and ensuring security
measures. Therefore, consumers prefer hiring a third party to handle these
aspects for them. In this scenario, a suitable alternative to ETFs is purchasing
tokenized gold. This is exactly what the Digital Gold project aims to do, while
also providing users with several benefits.
By leveraging the GOLD token to purchase digitized gold, customers do not
face the risk of having their accounts blocked. This often happens with brokers
due to their strict terms, such as limited country availability, trading limits, or
invasive requests for personal information. On the other hand, the GOLD token
allows users to trade as much as they would like, without needing to disclose
their identities.

[Link] Features of Digital Gold

The GOLD token boasts several impressive features that aim to facilitate the
usage of blockchain for digitizing assets. By purchasing gold via the token,
customers get access to:
♦♦ A low-cost token that entails no transfer fees

Thanks to its Ethereum ERC-20 support, customers can choose to send the
token anywhere in the world, without having to worry about volatile transfer
fees, since all transfers are free. Users are also permitted to make unlimited
payments, as the service does not impose account limits. Users should note that
transfers still entail the ‘gas’ tax charged by the Ethereum network.
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To make the project sustainable, a service cost has been implemented. As such,
GOLD token users can expect to have a small percentage of their holdings
charged on a daily basis. It is important to consider that the service cost is
designed to be either comparable, or lower than the fees associated with storing
gold at a depository or bank. Users can expect to pay a 0.99% annual storage fee.
♦♦ The opportunity to diversify portfolios, and keep wealth in a safe haven

The current cryptocurrency market conditions usually involve volatile price

swings, thus giving all purchases a high-risk factor. Most of the currently-
available coins are not trusted to keep their value in the long-run, as the market
is still in its nascence.
However, gold represents a financial asset that has held its value for thousands
of years. With time, it gave holders access to unprecedented purchasing power
backed by stability. Without a doubt, gold is one of the world’s safest assets to own
for wealth storage. Its digitization via the GOLD token enables users to purchase
coverage in physical gold, which can then be used to exercise protection against
poor market conditions, volatility and regulatory changes.
The GOLD token can be easily and instantly purchased, sold, and traded,
thus proving why it represents a powerful addition to current customer
cryptocurrency portfolios.
♦♦ Secure gold ownership

The challenges related to purchasing and storing gold have been briefly outlined
above. The process generally involves quite a bit of hassle. To purchase gold,
those who are interested need to find a reliable supplier, handle paperwork,
and then proceed to secure the newly-purchased precious metal. Hosting it in
a bank is a safe choice, yet it involves even more paperwork, alongside storage
fees. The inherent dangers associated with storing gold at home are well-known,
since to this day, burglary remains a problem that society has to protect against.
These challenges can be disregarded with Digital Gold. With the GOLD token,
customers purchase coverage in actual gold, stored by the company in secure
vaults. All physical gold is insured, therefore the risks are minimal. All risks are
covered at full replacement value. The insurance contract is currently provided
by one of the world’s largest insurance underwriters, the Chubb Insurance
Company. The insured gold is stored in Singapore, which is a perfectly-viable
location thanks to its strong property rights.
It is also relevant to mention that blockchain technology provides security
against cyber-risks as well. So far, blockchain remains impenetrable, granted
that no public blockchain ledger has been hacked to this day. Security on the 10
user-side can be ensured as long as token users protect themselves against
key-loggers and other forms of computer malware. However, no third party
can gain access to a user account without discovering the wallet identifier and
the associated private key. Additionally, blockchain immutability ensures that
all transactions are permanent, thus token users face no chargeback risk.
Lastly, 100% of purchased tokens are covered by physical gold. With this in
mind, the total amount of GOLD tokens put into circulation can be confirmed
via any Ethereum block explorer. The amount is equal to the value of physical
gold that is purchased on the behalf of consumers, and stored in a BullionStar-
based secure vault. Users are free to carry out their due diligence by verifying
the BullionStar live audit reports. As such, a third party audit report is issued on
a quarterly basis, thus confirming the value of gold being stored.
♦♦ High liquidity Digital Gold

The GOLD token ensures high liquidity, since the token issuer company,
DIGITAL GOLD LTD, also works as a liquidity supplier. Users are permitted
to instantly purchase and sell large amounts of tokens, via the Digital Gold
Marketplace, or partner exchanges.
Another benefit worth pointing out is that with Digital Gold, customers do
not have to consider local business hours, since the service is available 24/7.
Liquidity is therefore available on demand, and the rates always closely match
current gold market prices.
♦♦ A private gold ownership experience

As briefly mentioned above, dealing with physical gold entails that users
disclose personal information to remain in compliance with national regulatory
frameworks. The general lack of standardization backed by the sheer amount
of data collection, has led to the appearance of a society that is more privacy-
conscious. The GOLD token allows for physical gold ownership while remaining
private.
♦♦ Guaranteed long-term life expectancy of purchased GOLD

Most financial analysts agree that the life expectancy of gold vastly outweighs
our own. This conclusion is backed by the Lindy Effect, a concept that describes
how the future life expectancy of an asset is directly proportional to its current
age. Gold’s prevalence for thousands of years guarantees that the precious metal
will remain relevant for many years to come.

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3.2. The Digital Gold Stablecoin

As it has been mentioned above, the GOLD token has been designed to act as a
stablecoin, pegged to the price of gold. When it comes down to stablecoins, they
are generally pegged to other assets or currencies, but are also collateralized.
This means that the number of coins put into circulation is directly backed by
assets that are stored in company reserves. This way, user tokens are protected
against high-market volatility, whereas the value of the tokens remains stable
through time. These aspects fully apply to the GOLD token, thanks to its
stablecoin status.
Apart from being a stablecoin, the GOLD token is an ERC-20 compatible token
that is based directly on the Ethereum blockchain. This means that users can
expect to leverage all of the advantages associated with the Ethereum blockchain,
including instant transactions, immutability, fund security, automatic records,
and smart contract functionality.
As such, any purchase of the GOLD token is carried out via Ethereum-based
smart contracts. Additionally, smart contract functionality also ensures that the
number of coins in circulation remains equal to the amount of gold being stored
in the vaults.
The Ethereum-based blockchain provides a degree of trustworthiness that many
other cryptocurrencies fail to achieve. Ethereum has already been around for a
while, and users throughout the world see it as a solid, trustworthy, and bug-
free platform. Its open source code provides an even higher degree of trust,
granted that tokens based on the ETH blockchain cannot be directly controlled
by any centralized entity once they have been put into circulation.
Granted that it runs on-top of the Ethereum blockchain, the GOLD token can
be stored on a multitude of token-compatible wallets, including:
♦♦ MyEtherWallet

Generally considered as one of the best ETH and token wallets, it offers a great
user interface, and helps facilitate token-based transactions. Smart contracts are
also available.
♦♦ MetaMask

This wallet is generally suited to those that prefer browser extensions. MetaMask
allows users to store Ether and tokens, yet also gives access to decentralized
applications. All private keys held on this wallet are encrypted and kept locally,
to ensure superior security.
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♦♦ Guarda

Yet another non-custodial wallet platform, Guarda supports numerous

cryptocurrencies, including ERC-20 tokens. Users can store, receive, send, buy,
exchange and stake their coins with ease.
♦♦ Ledger Nano S

Industry practices dictate that high-value cryptocurrency portfolios should

be kept on hardware, or paper wallets, as a security safeguard. Ledger Nano S
provides a compact hardware wallet that supports a plethora of digital currencies
and ERC-20 tokens.
♦♦ Trezor

Last but not least, the GOLD token is also supported by the Trezor hardware
wallet. Similarly to Ledger, Trezor supports numerous cryptocurrencies, and
grants users access to extra security options, including PIN codes, passphrases
and more.
It is important to consider the fact that stablecoins are generally designed to be
low-risk assets. Thus, the potential value increase associated with the GOLD
token is directly proportional to the evolution of the gold spot price. Analysts
believe that in the future, as resources continue to deplete, the gold spot price will
follow an uptrend, thanks to the laws of supply and demand. The introduction
of digitized gold is also bound to increase gold’s usage worldwide, thus fulfilling
the conditions for a long-term price growth. Regardless of the price trends, the
GOLD token is a stable, solid purchase that acts as an excellent means of storing
wealth.
For further clarification on the purchase procedure for the GOLD token, it is
essential to point out that Digital Gold is not an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
As such, the management team is not in need of public-based crowdfunding
to finance and launch the project. Rather, self-owned sources of funding are
utilized to finance this project.

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4. THE DIGITAL GOLD
MARKETPLACE
In this section of the white paper, readers will get to learn more about the
procedure associated with purchasing, or selling the GOLD token.
To facilitate an easy, effective and efficient purchase/sale system, the Digital Gold
project has opted for the creation of a marketplace. By using the Digital Gold
Marketplace, users can simply fill out a form that initiates a smart contract,
which then transfers the newly-minted GOLD tokens. The Marketplace acts as
the best choice for GOLD token purchases and sales, as it allows users to carry
out these transactions instantly.
With this in mind, users must enter the sum they wish to purchase and the ERC-
20 Ethereum address where the tokens will be credited. Users are also permitted
to enter optional details, like their BTC return address, or email address for
email-based confirmation of the purchase. Once it is fully functional, the
marketplace will support both purchases and sales of the GOLD token.
Pricing information is always displayed on the marketplace. Upon accessing
it, potential customers will get to see the current spot price of gold, purchase
price, and redemption price, in both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). A chart
displaying the evolution of the gold spot price over the last couple of days is also
available to facilitate smarter analysis of the current gold market price trends.
When using the marketplace, users experiencing difficulties can easily address
Digital Gold’s customer support team. Support is available 24/7, and the team
comprises of several well-experienced representatives that can be contacted via
live chat. Phone-based support is also available Monday through Friday, between
09:00 – 17:00 (CET). Lastly, communication with the Digital Gold team can
also be carried out via email.

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5. PROJECT ROADMAP
Project roadmaps are essential for giving users insight on how companies plan
to evolve in the short-term future. Here is the pre-planned roadmap of the
Digital Gold project:

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