Special Report

Liquid Gold: Two New Ways to Opt Out of the U.S. Dollar

With commodities already in a supercycle, many investors are taking a new look at one of the oldest forms of stored value the world has ever known: gold.

It was the basis for the U.S. dollar until 1933, has been a symbol of wealth for literally thousands of years, and has a lasting value for its use in goods ranging from the luxurious to the eminently practical. Whether it’s in a wedding ring or a connector switch in your cellphone, gold is omnipresent in the lives of consumers.

Because of that value and because of the metal’s scarcity, many people consider gold to be a more stable store of value than any of the various fiat currencies of the world’s richest countries.

They have good reason to feel that way – especially now, when the consequences of invasive monetary policy and artificial manipulation of the world’s markets are making themselves more and more apparent.

Here in the U.S. – with inflation staying at 8% peaks with no signs of abating – the dollar is continuing to lose its purchasing power. Gold offers a potential way to opt out… but getting exposure to gold has historically been challenging.

As a physical commodity, it’s inherently difficult to store and trade.

That is… it was. New advancements in financial technology make it easier than ever for anyone to own and use real gold – not just as an asset but in everyday transactions.

In this report, we’ll take you on a tour of two of these exciting new developments.

Opt-Out Method No. 1: PAX Gold USD

PAX Gold (PAXG) is a digital asset created by the Paxos Trust Company to democratize access to gold for any level of investor.

From the abstract of its own white paper on the token… “We have created the easiest way for people to affordably own, hold, trade, lend or move investment-grade, physical vaulted gold – without the worry, cost or inconvenience of physical storage and security.”

The core of PAX Gold is very simple: It’s a cryptocurrency where each token represents 1 fine troy ounce of real, physical gold.

And not just any gold: London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited London Good Delivery gold bars – some of the highest-quality investment-grade gold in the world.

Here’s why we believe PAX Gold represents an ideal way to opt out of the U.S. dollar.

Allocation and Security

As we said above, one PAX Gold token represents 1 fine troy ounce of gold.

But this isn’t some abstract measure of gold that’s promised to you by the Paxos Trust – instead, it’s allocated gold… which means each token is associated with an actual, real gold bar that has a serial number on it in a high-security Brink’s vault – which you can check anytime on Paxos’ website.

That means you never have to worry about the validity or certainty of your claim or worry about Paxos’ ability to fulfill in the event you want to exchange your tokens for physical gold.

In fact, because Paxos is a state-chartered trust company and merely considered the custodian of your assets… the gold backing your PAX Gold is held separate from the company’s holdings.

That means you’re protected even in the unlikely event that Paxos itself goes bankrupt in the future.

Accessibility

PAX Gold is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, which means it’s plugged into one of the most widely used networks in the world. That makes it extremely easy to buy, sell or move between wallets 24/7 – and most transactions are instantaneous.

PAX Gold is available on over 30 vaults, exchanges, wallets and lending platforms, so if you’re into crypto, you probably already have a way to acquire it.

And while trading PAX Gold is subject to gas fees and creation and destruction fees, the overall expenses compare very favorably with other gold-related investment products like ETFs or futures – to say nothing of the costs of physically storing and moving your own gold.

In addition, PAX Gold allows for the ownership of fractional tokens, which means that anyone can buy in for a minimum expenditure of about $20.

That opens up the world of gold ownership and investment to all levels of retail traders.

Regulation and Oversight

The Paxos Trust Company – the issuer of PAX Gold – is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which has given specific approval to PAX Gold as an authorized product.

The oversight of the New York Department of Financial Services over Paxos and its operations ensures a greater degree of consumer protection and holds Paxos to a high standard of conduct – as an example, Paxos is required to audit, using nationally ranked auditors, the token supply and the underlying physical gold once a month to ensure both are reconciled.

Transferability

PAX Gold owners have a wide array of options for converting their tokens into other assets.

PAX Gold can be traded on crypto exchanges for other cryptocurrencies, sold or converted to USD, or even converted to unallocated or allocated physical gold by gold retailers around the world.

How to Buy PAX Gold

As we said above, PAX Gold is available for purchase on over 30 exchanges. Paxos has its own exchange called itBit, but you can also purchase it at Binance, Crypto.com and others.

The full list is here – all you have to do is scroll down to the “Pax Gold Ecosystem” subhead and click on the link to whichever exchange you prefer. Or you can start an itBit account by going here: https://account.paxos.com/signup.

Opt-Out Method No. 2: Glint

One of the biggest obstacles to anyone interested in owning gold is that liquidating it in the event of an emergency can be difficult. Usually, you need to go through a vendor or some type of exchange, and it often involves wait times and fees to complete any transactions.

But one enterprising fintech company out of Colorado is now offering a way for users to not only buy, sell and trade allocated gold… but also spend it as they would any other form of currency, without the need for a complicated conversion or redemption process. Imagine getting your morning coffee or paying for a family vacation directly with gold – that’s what we’re talking about here.

It’s called Glint, and it’s a combination of a smartphone app and a prepaid Mastercard debit card that work in tandem.

The app is a savings and payments platform not unlike PayPal – except that the e-wallet accounts you have through the app allow for the direct purchase of gold with USD. Simply fund the account via an ACH transfer from your bank or by debit card and you can immediately convert your balance into an equivalent amount of allocated gold.

Like PAX Gold, Glint uses only LBMA-certified London Good Delivery gold bars, stored in a Brink’s vault in Switzerland. Once converted, your balance represents a specific amount of gold in that vault. Glint is regulated by Sutton Bank, which is FDIC insured.

Moving between gold and USD is as simple as pushing a button in the app. (Glint charges a minimal fee of 0.5% for transfers.)

The associated debit card allows you to spend directly from your balance – whether it’s in USD or gold – anywhere that Mastercard is accepted… just as you’d make any other kind of debit card payment. It’ll automatically deduct the grams in gold from your balance to cover your purchase.

This offers you maximum flexibility for using your gold – keep it as an investment account and take advantage of all the benefits gold offers as an inflation hedge or use it as an immediately liquid source of funds. It’s up to you. And no matter how badly the dollar fluctuates, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your Glint balance is immune to those shifts.

Both these methods offer investors at all levels unprecedented access to gold as part of an inflation-beating investment portfolio. If you’re interested in using gold in your personal wealth-building strategy, look into PAX Gold (PAXG) and Glint to see if they’re right for you.