New Delhi, October 23, 2020: Fintech platform Oropocket announced today that it is tokenizing gold and silver on the Tezos blockchain protocol. India’s first gold or silver-based token, Oropocket has tapped blockchain consulting firm TZ APAC to advise them on their Asia business strategy using the Tezos blockchain. India has been experiencing a cryptocurrency boom ever since the country’s Supreme Court lifted banking restrictions for exchanges earlier this year. This move positions OroPocket as one of the first movers in the convergence of the strong cultural significance of gold in India with emerging technological trends.
With gold or silver-backed tokens, users are now able to independently track and verify their holdings at any point in time, removing the need for the tedious process of consulting a notary. The usage of a blockchain protocol allows all shareholding information to be transparent, accurate, and thorough. These tokenized assets – “XTZGold” and “XTZSilver” – are backed by physical gold and silver assets in a 1:1 ratio which is audited daily by third parties and stored in vaults in the UK, Switzerland, and Singapore. Users can invest as little as 0.01 USD to hold XTZGold or XTZSilver. All the assets are fully insured by Marsh Ltd. with Galmerly Ltd. as the appointed custodian.
“We aim to provide the highest security possible for our users and we recognized this strength in Tezos after conducting several trials with various blockchain protocols. Furthermore, its on-chain governance feature reduces the likelihood of forking. Forking happens when there is a disagreement on improvements to a blockchain protocol, resulting in a split of the blockchain, which produces two versions of digital representations of your assets in the network. Users would then have to go through a troublesome process of having to clarify which version is valid. On-chain governance on Tezos avoids this problem altogether and allows sustainable scalability and consistency in upgradability in a constantly evolving technology landscape.” – Mohit Madan, CEO of OroPocket.
Madan also added –
“Tezos’ comparatively low transaction fees are another key factor that aligns with OroPocket’s goal of ensuring financial inclusivity through the removal of the hefty fees commonly imposed by traditional banks. OroPocket allows users to send gold or silver to anyone across the globe within seconds at only a charge of 0.25% fee on all transactions, without any storage, insurance, or hidden fees.”
Ethereum gas fees have been elevated over the past month from September 19 – October 18 at 2.46 USD, while Tezos has maintained gas fees below 0.01 USD over the same period, at a monthly average of 0.006427 USD for the same period. This makes Tezos gas fees over 380 times cheaper than on Ethereum, enabling more cost-effective deployment of decentralized applications on the Tezos.
“We at TZ APAC are excited to advise the team at OroPocket to launch their service on the Tezos blockchain. We see India as a very important blockchain market in Asia. By offering the very first gold and silver-backed digital assets on Tezos, it opens up a tremendous opportunity to reach the vast potential of users in the Indian market. To better facilitate a successful deployment, we have also tapped our local strategic partner, Tezos India, who will aid the team at OroPocket with technical support, development tools as well as community outreach activities which are crucial for its sustainable growth.” – David Shin, Head of Asia at TZ APAC.
In addition to this tokenization of assets, OroPocket is working to offer add-on services on top of these fractional assets such as asset-backed debit cards, instant loans, and remittances. These debit cards provide users with high liquidity as they can shop online, offline, or withdraw cash at ATMs.
About TZ APAC
TZ APAC Pte. Ltd. (“TZ APAC”) is a leading Asia-based public blockchain consultancy focused on the Tezos ecosystem achieving strategic impact in Asia. TZ APAC designs value-added blockchain transformation strategies for enterprises with a bottom-up approach, working closely with blockchain experts and other stakeholders in the Tezos ecosystem to ensure each strategy is built-in with a sound execution plan for alignment of business goals with management.
A core goal for TZ APAC is to identify and expand corporate and institutional partnerships in the region. Another important goal is to source and engage local teams that can contribute to the development of the Tezos ecosystem. Lastly, the TZ APAC team strives to create a culture of excellence in looking for projects that align with the strategic priorities of the Tezos Foundation.
TZ APAC is supported by the Tezos Foundation and is based in Singapore.
About OroPocket
Oropocket is a fintech platform that is empowering users to be able to indulge in 100% asset-backed banking on blockchain. Not only do we allow users to invest in multiple asset classes on one platform but we also provide a plethora of financial services on top of it. We have also created a bridge between the real world assets and DeFi- by creating a protocol called OpenDefi. OpenDefi enables cross-chain value creation and allows users to be able to get flash loans or yield on their holdings. For more information, please visit https://oropocket.com
Media Contact
Katherine Ng TZ APAC katherine.ng@tzapac.com
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