17 October 2024 – Real-world assets platform Swarm Markets has today launched gold ordinals on the Bitcoin Blockchain.
Physical gold bars are represented on the Bitcoin blockchain with unique gold kilobar serial numbers inscribed as ordinals in collaboration with OrdinalsBot, the first inscription service, helping people to create ordinals easily.
OrdinalsBot inscribed on the first real gold asset on the Bitcoin Blockchain, which can be viewed on the OrdinalsBot platform https://www.ord.io/76510510.
The launch is the first of its kind in the world and adds to Swarm’s Polygon and Ethereum gold NFTs which both launched earlier this year.
The price of gold continues to rise thanks to macroeconomic factors including geopolitical tension, weakening dollar and a lowering interest rate environment. Investors are increasingly turning to the world’s oldest investable asset as a safe haven and the tokenized gold market surpassed $1billion in April this year, according to CoinDesk.
This makes the opportunity to own gold on the Bitcoin Blockchain all the more compelling – combining the best features of both assets including both the fundamental and practical aspects of each.
Timo Lehes, co-founder of Swarm Markets, comments: “Establishing the ability for investors to own gold on the Bitcoin blockchain offers a unique opportunity. Investors no longer need to debate whether they should hold real or digital gold, when Swarm’s ordinals offer the ability to hold both simultaneously using one blockchain as a common infrastructure.
“The gold market has gone from strength to strength this year thanks to rising geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The same is true of bitcoin which has risen 56% year-to-date. By combining the best qualities of both assets on-chain, it not only makes buying gold much easier, but also provides an opportunity for investors to benefit from both together.
“The value proposition for both is as a safe haven and store of value. For gold, this dates back millennia. In comparison, bitcoin is just getting started as an alternative to traditional asset classes. By offering investors the opportunity to hold both at the same time, Swarm’s ordinals represent a step change in bringing real world assets on chain to the biggest crypto asset—and therefore market—in the world.”
As more institutions move into bitcoin via ETFs, Swarm expects more innovation to happen on the Bitcoin blockchain. This is not just a commodity asset that users buy and hold, but entire ecosystems and use cases are being developed via the Bitcoin Network.
Toby Lewis, co-founder of OrdinalsBot, adds: “We are delighted that gold will become the first real-world asset on Trio, the OrdinalsBot marketplace launching in Q4. The ability to buy and hold physical gold on Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, is a golden opportunity for all investors. We believe many will want to hold gold stored on Bitcoin in their wallets because it is a big value unlock for all ordinals.”
Since the initial gold NFT launch in June, retail users and high-net-worths have been buying the commodity on chain thanks, in part, to the transparency, control and MiCa compliance that Swarm’s gold NFTs offer.
RWA tokenization is increasingly seen as a powerful alternative to traditional methods of gold ownership. Swarm are putting potential partnerships with institutional players in the pipeline to capitalise on this and expand the proposition.
Ends
About OrdinalsBot
OrdinalsBot was the first inscription service, helping people to create ordinals easily. It has worked with $ORDI, the first billion dollar market cap token on Bitcoin, French Montana, GhostFace Killah, the mining group Mara and many more leading individuals and organisations leveraging information on Bitcoin. For more information, please visit https://ordinalsbot.com/