The average price of gold has increased by more than 10% per year since 1971, outperforming assets classes such as equities, bonds, and fiat currencies in recent decades.
Earlier this year, Argo Digital Gold unveiled a new investment platform that aims to provide investors with secure and digital access to physical gold.
The financial technology startup, established and seed-funded by the billionaire Sprott household alongside Peter Grosskopf, promises “significant new benefits to precious metals investors.”
These benefits include “enhanced security features in gold storage and custody, 24/7 trading, the opportunity for fractional ownership, and industry-leading low and transparent fees,” according to a statement from the Toronto-born company, whose name is derived from the mythical Greek ship Argonautica.
“The Argo team is excited to build this innovative FinTech startup backed by two of the most world-renowned and trusted names in precious metals investing,” stated Michel Petch, who serves Argo as president, in March.
“We are setting our sights on providing seamless crypto-to-gold trading and to be on the leading edge of the tokenization of gold which will unlock powerful use-cases for this $5 trillion industry,” the blockchain technology entrepreneur continued.
Gold purchased on the platform goes to a dedicated account for each individual, stored at the Royal Canadian Mint. Argo intends to add other vaults outside Canada in the future.
“Gold is the original alternative asset, and we believe that precious metals should continue to anchor a diverse portfolio of alternative investments,” said Grosskofp, who functions as chairman of Argo. “We are embracing new technologies which allow investors to store and trade gold outside of the financial system it is designed to hedge against.”
“This digital platform will make precious metals more accessible to a younger, more tech-savvy generation of investors who want a liquid alternative asset that holds its value,” agreed board director Larisa Sprott. “Similar to all the gold products we have created, Argo will be a 100% physically backed gold investment platform that investors can trust.”
This month, Argo Digital Gold revealed multiple new investors, including backing from Toronto-based WonderFi, reports BetaKit, as well as from New York’s Paxos.
The Vancouver-born web3 firm WonderFi operates an array of regulated Canadian crypto trading platforms and other digital asset businesses, including Bitbuy, Coinsquare and Coinsmart, and Bitvo. The company serves more than 1.6 million registered Canadians with a total of more than $1 billion in assets in custody.
While Argo’s team declined to inform BK of the value of the investments, Petch did state what the startup intends to do with the capital: expand internationally.
It’s all part of a grand vision to “offer institutional-grade direct ownership to all investors in a safe and technologically enhanced manner,” according to Grosskopf.
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