Australia's biggest gold refiner, The Perth Mint, is developing its own blockchain-backed gold products as it looks to respond to the threat posed by the rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
While Perth Mint chief executive Richard Hayes dismissed the trading frenzy in bitcoin as a bubble that would invariably burst, he told The Australian the underlying blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies presented an opportunity for the mint to develop new gold products offering greater security and traceability.
Mr Hayes said the rise of bitcoin had contributed to the flow of money out of precious metals over the past year, exacerbating a broader collapse in demand for bullion coins that had hurt the mint's bottom line.