Three ways technology is changing the traditional gold market
There’s no question about it — the development of technology has transformed the gold industry in a number of ways and will almost certainly continue to do so. But exactly how is it changing? And which technologies are having the greatest amount of impact?
Increasing transparency across the supply chain
With various technologies now providing the industry with the tools to increase the traceability and transparency in the gold supply chain process, companies are under more pressure than ever to introduce this into their processes and provide more detail about exactly where their materials have been sourced. Those that are not doing this now risk being faced with a higher level of scrutiny by both brands and consumers, as it can appear as though they have something to hide.
Blockchain technology, in particular, is now a huge driving force across this market, enabling the gold industry to optimise its transparency, whilst also encouraging more eco-responsible trade. Blockchain technology can enable gold refineries and suppliers to digitally track and trace responsibly sourced gold all the way from the mine to the end consumer. This can not only help refineries ensure that the origin of their gold has been fully traced as it moves towards buyers, but also gives suppliers and consumers greater peace of mind that the mining process was as eco-friendly and ethical as possible.
Creating a more secure ecosystem
The ownership and security of gold as it moves through the supply chain has been a longstanding challenge for suppliers operating across the industry’s global network. The high-value nature of mined goods such as good means that it can be extremely susceptible to theft during transit, and it is therefore vital to ensure that gold is both transported and stored with maximum security in mind.
Utilising blockchain technology, suppliers can significantly elevate the security of responsible sourced gold, as it can provide a track record of a digital assets without the need for a trusted third party. Due to this technology, the gold market can now eliminate additional parties from the process and create a tamper proof solution for all the parties involved, with secured data and transactions as well as transparency and traceability.
What’s more, the added security over payments that blockchain facilitates offers a greater level of stability for the mining communities responsible for producing the materials, which can ultimately help to strengthen their economy and empower working families with better quality of life.
Enabling more data-driven decisions
The gold industry has always heavily relied on data; this information can help to locate mine veins, identify risks to workers and streamline processes. While data is vital to the production of gold, many of the traditional processes of collecting and processing this data have been both manual and labour-intensive. However, businesses can now adopt the likes of blockchain and IoT technology to revolutionise the way in which they collect data in the field and transport it through the supply chain.
By implementing such technologies, devices located within mines can be classed as ‘smart’, and can automatically analyse and relay insights into many environmental aspects of the mine, including temperature, water pressure, and concentration of gases. With this technology, businesses can make immediate decisions on the safety and efficiency of their processes. Blockchain then provides the system required to ensure any data related to the gold’s origin is protected as its embarks on its journey to a buyer.
This technology is fundamental our very own project. We’re building an ecosystem with our USAVE platform, which offers a global solution to track, secure and market eco-responsible gold, using blockchain technology. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, our network can secure the eco-responsible gold supply chain from miners with connected hardware that records production for tracking and fair payments, to a physical gold exchange allowing accessibility to physical traceable gold and human transformation at mining communities. This holds significant benefits for all participants, from the gold mining, to refining and exchange.
For more news and views from the USAVE team, be sure to follow our Twitter @USAVE_Network, LinkedIn and Facebook or check out our official site, www.usave.io.

