Bitcoin price BOOST: The 1000 year old business joining Cryptocraze with a KEY difference

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ripple and ethereum has been met with scepticism by institutional investors, but not everybody is so critical of the mania. 

The Royal Mint, which produced the UK’s coins and holds gold, has joined the cryptocurrency bandwagon by creating their own digital token, with one key difference. 

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Tom Coghill from the Royal Mint’s RMG division, said: “We already sell physical gold through our Royal Mint Bullion business and we sell coins and bars.

“In this sense what we’re doing here is simply making that a digital business and allowing for our clients to be able to hold gold for the first time on a blockchain basis. 

“The difference between what we’re doing and what other crypto digital assets is that we’re a physical tangible asset.

“One gram on our blockchain represents one gram physically in our vault. 

“So it’s real gold you’re holding when you’re holding our RMG.”

Bitcoin has been compared to gold as it also is seen as being most useful as a store of value but Coghill said that still remained to be seen. 

He said: “Gold has probably had an argument that it’s been a store of value for 6,000 years, bitcoin’s a bit younger and the future of bitcoin is uncertain.”

The UK is not the only country to create a gold-backed cryptocurrency. Australia’s Perth Mint have said they are hoping to capitalise on the rise the trading of digital currencies as a way to help increase interest in investing in Australia.

Richard Hayes, Chief Executive of Perth Mint said: “I think as the world moves through times of increasing uncertainty, you’re seeing people look for alternate offerings.

“And you’re seeing this massive flow of funds into the likes of Bitcoin at the moment because people are looking for something outside of the traditional investments.”

Bitcoin dropped 2.07 percent to $10,926.90 ay 11:47 am in London, according to CoinDesk.com