Eidoo has become the latest cryptocurrency startup to seek to create a more stable token by tying it to the price of gold. The Switzerland-based startup says the ERC-20-compatible token, dubbed the ekon, will sit alongside its multicurrency wallet and decentralized exchange. But perhaps more notably, each token will be redeemable for one gram of 99.9 percent fine gold, which the startup says will be stored in its vaults and audited every 90 days.
“People will be able to see the gold stored in the security vaults through a video camera, we will post a link on the website so everyone can control the gold,” Natale Ferrara, the startup’s founder, told CoinDesk in an email via a spokesperson.
Fees for buying and selling ekon on the exchange will generate revenue for Eidoo in the form of its EDO token (CoinDesk previously reported on the company’s unique approach to its revenue). Ferrara also said that fees will be assessed if anyone wants to trade in their crypto token for an actual gram of gold.
“Each Ekon token will be backed by … [24-karat gold], so we will issue new tokens only if the gold is available and only if the user has completed the KYC and all the legal requirements that the Swiss law requires,” Ferrara wrote.
Eidoo raised $27.9 million in a token sale last October, and its app has since become one of the more popular platforms for launching initial coin offerings. As it has expanded services to crypto users, it has added exchange services – an area that the gold-backed stablecoin fits within.