The Universal Protocol Alliance — a consortium of crypto firms comprising Bittrex Global, Ledger, CertiK, and Uphold — has launched a token backed by the Western Australian government-owned Perth Mint.
The tokens, dubbed ‘Universal Gold’ or UPXAU, can be purchased on Uphold and spent using the firm’s debit card. Investors can purchase UPXAU from $1 with no investment limits. Unlike mainstream gold products which often have 0.4% monthly custody fees, the token is free to hold.
In a July 30 announcement, JP Thieriot, Uphold’s chief executive, said the token had “three killer features”:
“Spendability, zero holding costs, and government guarantee.”
Perth Mint backs ‘Universal Gold’
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Thieriot stated that “the Universal Gold project has been in the making for quite some time,” noting that one of the Alliance’s largest investors is “a prominent goldbug” who brought the Perth Mint to its attention several months ago:
“The Perth Mint is the largest refiner of new gold in the world, and is owned by the Government of Western Australia, which guarantees all the gold it holds in the same way the FDIC guarantees US dollars held in American banks.”
He said the Perth Mint didn’t charge custody fees and was technologically savvy. “We’ve been working with another prominent gold provider for the better part of six years, and they can’t match what The Perth Mint offers,” he added.
Gold tokens proliferate
The Universal Gold project is not Perth Mint’s first gold backed token. In February it teamed up with Infinigold to launch the Perth Mint Gold Token (PGMT). Other gold backed tokens appearing recently include Tether Gold which launched in January, Paxos’ PAX Gold which commenced trade in September 2019, and DigitalX’s token which launched in April 2019.