The new gold standard

• Until the early 20th century, most countries used the gold standard to determine the nation’s currency value, with coins and paper notes minted based on its gold reserves. Today, most countries have shifted to the fiat money system with central banks issuing currencies.
• 500-backed fintech company, Ubuntu Tribe, is bringing back the gold standard with Gold International Fungible Tokens (GIFTs), which are 100% backed by gold.. Each GIFT is equivalent to 1 milligram of gold and can be redeemed for the equivalent physical gold at any time. 
• The gold is put through the highest refining standards- LBMA Gold standard 99.99, and stored in vaults in Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, and Switzerland. 
• This makes GIFT a reliable tool for peer-to-peer transfer of gold between customers, combining the trustworthiness of gold with the safety and convenience of blockchain.
• Ubuntu (an old African expression that means “I am because we are”) Tribe has even put together an entire transparent supply chain that allows clean and responsible extraction of gold without the use of mercury or cyanide. A percentage is redistributed in the mines as an investment for social infrastructure, schools, and hospitals for the community who help make this possible for everyone else.
• Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, Founder & CEO of Ubuntu Group: “It’s not enough to tokenize gold and put it on the market for universal affordable access. In what conditions do people extract the Gold? Do they get their fair share?  How does it impact the environment? How do we create an ecosystem that helps protect the environment, provides supply chain transparency, and has a circular economy model for a true win-win scenario, so that whenever somebody transacts GIFTs in Rio, New York, Tokyo, or Lagos, the planet is preserved and the people in the mine still benefit?” he asks.
• Read the full story here.