Recently, the World Gold Council conducted a survey where it found that financial institutions, both private and public, are losing faith in the U.S. dollar. As a result, central banks are dropping dollars for gold. For example, Singapore increased its gold reserves by 20% earlier this year. By the second quarter of 2021, Singapore had added an additional 26.3 tons of gold. This is the first time Singapore has expanded its gold reserves since 2000, and its reserves now hold about 154 tons of the precious metal. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) believes that investing more in gold will allow the central bank to further diversify its portfolio and remain resilient through financial turmoil.

If you have visited a car dealership, gas station, or grocery store recently, there is a strong chance you’ve noticed a significant increase in prices. Similarly, if you look into consumer goods, investments, real estate properties, and even utility bills, you will see a huge difference in prices compared to previous years. This unfortunate phenomenon is called inflation. 

The definition of inflation has changed throughout the years. Central banks and economists, who support the bank’s monetary policies, will define it slightly differently than its detractors. But something everyone seems to agree upon is that inflation is the loss of a currency’s purchasing power.

New Bitcoin Investment Vehicle Debuted on Wall Street, With More on the Way

A new Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, debuted on Wall Street. ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF will trade in Bitcoin futures contracts that speculate on the future price of Bitcoin as opposed to the cryptocurrency itself. 

In anticipation of the launch of the ETF, Bitcoin recently jumped 3%. Also, Bitcoin futures increased by 2%. Asset managers estimate that with the introduction of crypto NFTs, particularly with Bitcoin, valuation will continue to increase. Some analysts believe Bitcoin is well on its way to hitting the $100,000 mark. With reputable investors like Paul Tudor Jones and Mark Cuban betting big on Bitcoin, many people are flocking to what crypto pioneers call digital gold.

Precious metals such as gold and silver are viewed as timeless resources. Gold can protect wealth and bring security to your assets. Some people have become aware of fiat currency and the threat of an impending monetary collapse. As such,  precious metals continue to bear fruit while inflation continues to grow uncontrollably. But now, new forms have arisen as an alternative or even an accompaniment to gold, with cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Gold had an interesting week, as the start of the fourth quarter draws in mixed reports, stemming from weak jobs reports, continued COVID-19 restrictions, record-high oil prices, supply chain bottleneck, and inflation. The Fed continues to give mix signals as to what policies they will implement to help curb inflation and give a substantial boost to the economy. Recently, the Fed’s Jerome Powell mentioned the possibility of tapering COVID era policies, but yet, we do not know what tapering measures will be implemented.

Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, digital currencies have become all the rage, with a total market cap of $2.25 trillion. There are over 6,500 cryptocurrencies in circulation today, all with individual characteristics and features to differentiate themselves from each other. One set of cryptocurrencies that have become very popular amongst investors is the stablecoin. 

Stored away in a drawer for over a decade, this one-ounce gold coin was created with a 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC) denomination. At the time of the purchase, 1,000 BTC was worth $4,905. After years of BTC’s popularity, the coin is now worth $54 million as of October 6, 2021. 

Recently, the owner, who remains anonymous, spoke with GreatCollections Coin Auctions of Irvine, California, to help with appraisal logistics for the coin. GreatCollections submitted the BTC coin with an armored detail to get certified by Professional Coin Grading Service. Recently, the coin has been certified PCGS PR70DCAM (Proof 70 Deep Cameo).

Of all the choices investors have today to go fully digital with their finances, Bitcoin and gold are no longer the only options. China is making waves with its digital Yuan as Alipay announces it will allow users to trade with the new currency. This partnership evolved from Alipay and Mybank’s participation in China’s digital currency expansion and electronic payment testing.

Previously, we discussed what Reddit’s WallStreetBets were up to and where they might turn next. At first, many thought it would be the silver price because of previous discussions happening on the subforum. However, the CME Group increased its maintenance margins on Comex 5000 Silver Futures by about 18%, spiking the silver price. It fell the next day, proving that Reddit had little to nothing to do with this. Although the GameStop short squeeze seems to have blown over, retail investors continue to hold their stocks—partly owing to Robinhood and other brokers limiting the trade on GME last week. They have since been issued a class-action lawsuit, and face hearings this week. Because GameStop shares fell more than 50% after the frenzy, many are drawing comparisons to the Dot Com Bubble burst of 2000. But what exactly happened back then might not repeat in this case.

In fact, this massive social investing in GameStop, AMC, Nokia, and Blackberry might actually change everything.

On Wednesday, PayPal announced plans to introduce cryptocurrency trading on PayPal and Venmo. Thanks to Paxos Trust Company, PayPal and cryptos now unite, opening a new horizon for crypto traders. This introduction will enable crypto traders to use cryptocurrency for more applications, even on a daily basis. 

Investors buy gold as for one of three reasons: a hedge, a safe haven, or a direct investment. Which of these is the best reason? Research says that gold is the best hedge against a stock market crash.

Gold is respected throughout the world for its value and rich history, which has been interwoven into cultures for thousands of years. Coins containing gold appeared around 800 B.C.

Appearing on CNBC’s show “Mad Money” With Jim Kramer, Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla noted that this company combined Silicon Valley’s innovations with the banking industry’s confidence.

Many bitcoiners are former gold bugs who believe in “hard money,” so one crypto company is hoping digitized gold will attract more traders.

PAX Gold is the Easiest Way to Own and Trade Physical Gold. Offers Investors & Traders Greater Flexibility, Mobility, Access to $9 Trillion Gold Market.

Nexo, the dominant player in the crypto lending space, is adding the NYDFS-regulated PAX Gold as a collateral option for its signature Instant Crypto Credit Lines, bringing gold-backed lending to the blockchain.

“We’re really a technology firm at heart, and so we’re trying to give you the confidence of a bank, but the innovation of Silicon Valley,” Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla says.

“That’s just different from, I think, most institutions that are in the banking world today,” he says in an interview with Jim Cramer on “Mad Money.”

Paxos offers a regulated gold-backed digital coin called PAX Gold that allows investors to own and trade physical gold.

Paxos Trust Company LLC, the issuer of the PAX dollar-pegged stablecoin, sees its Paxos Gold (PAXG) coin immediately adopted within the crypto ecosystem.

Stablecoin operator Paxos launched PAX Gold (PAXG), a gold-backed Ethereum (ETH) token. Paxos announced the launch of the product above in a press release published on Sept. 5, claiming that it is “the first crypto-asset redeemable for physical gold.”

SALT, a crypto-collateralized online lending platform, announced on last week that beginning October 1st it will offer the just released PAX Gold (PAXG) as a collateral type for clients seeking to use their digital assets as collateral to secure a USD loan. The online lender reported that PAX Gold is an asset-backed digital token on the Ethereum blockchain and is Paxos’ first blockchain asset to represent precious metal; its value is tied directly to the spot price of gold quoted by the London gold market.