Las Vegas based US precious metals dealer Anthem Vault announced the launch of its new altcoin dubbed “Independence Coin.”
President Richard M. Nixon announced back on August 15, 1971, that the U.S. would no longer officially exchange dollars for gold and many are still referring to that decision as one of the biggest mistakes ever. So perhaps it doesn’t come as a surprise that some cryptocurrency founders are making inroads to fill that void.
Independence coin
Announced at FreedomFest 2014, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Independence Coin or INNCoin is the first open-source, gold-backed cryptocurrency. The currency was symbolically launched on July 4 by Anthem Vault's technology team in collaboration with Vancouver-based Newnote Financial Corp.
All of the coins will be backed by 100 grams (3.5 oz.) of gold that is stored at Anthem Vault. This alt-coin is also commonly referred to as a Micro Gold Coin (MGC).
Anthem Vault CEO and Founder, Anthem Hayek Blanchard, explained:
"This coin stands for currency independence and demonstrates the use of cryptocurrencies as micro-gold weighted instruments in commerce."
The aim of the precious metals dealer is not only to provide additional value and stability to the coin but also to perpetuate the use of bullion as an accepted form of digital money.
Blanchard stated:
“It should make gold more acceptable as a form of currency by combining its appeal as a store of value and a much more efficient medium of exchange.”
Anthem stated that it will launch 10 million INNCoins that will be backed by 100 grams of gold with all coins expected to be mined within the first year. This means that all of he coins will be made available by July 2015.
Blanchard also stated that this launch was a promotional offering and that his company is planning to release a complete suite of digital currencies backed by larger gold and other precious metal reserves by the end of September.
On the question of whether the INNCoins are redeemable for gold, Anthem told Cointelegraph via email:
"Each INNCoin is backed by 1/100,000th of a gram of gold stored with Anthem Vault. Someone can pay Anthem Vault's wallet 100,000 INNCoin and receive 1 gram of gold in their Anthem Vault account, which they can then sell and have directly deposited (ACH/EFT) into their bank account."
It is free to create an Anthem Vault account and users are not required to make a purchase or submit their financial information. Users must create an account, however, as it is the only way to get your hands on an INNCoin wallet to store these new gold-backed altcoins. Moreover, the dedicated wallet includes mining software that makes it easy for everyone to mine INNCoins right on their computer.
Store of value
Right now, Independence Coin is in its early stages as an experimental currency. Nevertheless, this new altcoin could set a precedent on how precious metal bullion can be used to back cryptocurrencies in the future. This could potentially also solve the biggest problem of digital currencies, as described by investment broker and “gold bug” Peter Schiff:
“[Bitcoins] replicate the properties [of gold] except the single most important one. Without this property, gold would have never been money. Of course, I’m talking about value - the intrinsic value of the metal itself.”
By combining blockchain technology with the world’s oldest “real money,” a gold-backed digital currency could become a fully-fledged global commerce solution and asset class that can facilitate ownership, storage and transfer of precious metals.
Who was first?
Of course, being first to the punch is not as important as releasing the better coin. Back in May, Cointelegraph reported on another cryptocurrency Minacoin that was supposedly backed by gold (two 400 oz. gold bars valued at US$1,050,000) technically making INNCoin the runner-up. However, Minacoin now appears to be yet another vaporware currency as their website has been down for some time with some users claiming that the service has gone quiet.
Another honorable mention is the recently launched G8Coin, which we plan to cover in greater detail soon.
About Anthem Vault
Anthem Vault provides U.S. residents with an efficient and liquid way to buy, own and sell physical, 100% fine gold and silver bullion. All metals are securely stored with an independent world-class vaulting facility in Salt Lake City, Utah and are fully insured by Lloyd's of London against loss, damage, or destruction caused from theft or natural disaster.
Anthem Vault's offices and experienced operations team are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is incorporated as a Nevada corporation under the name of Anthem Vault, Inc. and is regulated as a precious metals dealer by the USA Patriot Act.
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