HelloGold — ICO Review

CryptoRated
Aug 27, 2017 · 7 min read

HelloGold is bringing gold-based savings and financing to blockchain. The company will enable wealth preservation and diversification through its digital gold-backed token. HelloGold will offer four core lines of service:

  • Gold-backed token: Each digital gold token (GBT) will be backed by physical investment grade gold.
  • Customers will be provided the option of converting their vaulted gold to a digital gold token (GBT). This will enable customers to use the stored gold as value beyond the HelloGold System.
  • Customers can use their gold as collateral for loans provided by Aeon Credit Services, giving them access to personal finance when required at best-in-market rates.
  • An iOS and Android app which allows customers to quickly buy and sell their tokens as well as trade them in for their share of investment grade gold.

Read the full review here.

The HelloGold app allows users to buy and sell units of GBT (gold-backed token). Each token is backed by 1 gram of 99,99% investment grade gold. The tokens are fungible and divisible, therefore 0.0002 GBT would represent 0.0002 grams of gold. Furthermore the platform will have an API pulling current international gold spot prices. Since each GBT is backed by one gram of gold — the price of GBT will, therefore, be pegged to the price of gold. This platform feature will thus allow app users to buy and sell GBT at current competitive rates. Lastly, the app allows — through KYC & AML — users to redeem their GBT for physical gold bars, coin, or jewelry — which will be shipped directly to the users’ address.

The ICO will collect Ethereum and allocate HGT (HelloGold Tokens). The allocation will be immediate. The HelloGold Token is an ERC20 compliant token. Its function is to secure the HelloGold blockchain as well as be traded through exchanges. The share of anybody’s HGT determines the share of GBT rewards they will receive when they are distributed. Upon finishing the crowdsale the HelloGold Foundation will allocate GBT among HGT holders pro-rata to their HGT holdings. As the lifetime total allocation of GBT is capped at 3,800,000 GBT (i.e. 3.8 metric tonnes of gold) to the 1,000,000,000 HGT created, each HGT will receive a maximum of 0.0038 GBT (i.e. 0.0038 g of gold). The HelloGold Foundation will also mint more GBT proportional to the amount of new gold acquired by HelloGold. Moreover there will be fees: Accounts holding GBT will be subject to a 2% per annum calculated daily Conversion. Once this fee is assessed the GBT in the users account will be burned. To summarize:

  1. ICO participants will purchase HelloGold Tokens with Ethereum
  2. Participants with HGT will be given 0.0038 GBT amount of Gold-backed Tokens. (ie 1000 HGT = 3.8 GBT)
  3. Participants may then buy/sell/trade their HGT on participating exchanges.
  4. Participants may buy/sell/trade their GBT tokens on the HelloGold app
  5. Participants may complete KYC & AML through the HelloGold app to redeem their GBT for physical gold bars, coins, and jewelry.

HelloGold has decided to use the blockchain — specifically Ethereum. The Android app is currently done and available for testing. The iOS app is currently undergoing development. The HelloGold blockchain is functional and currently undergoing testing. HelloGold decided to use blockchain technology for the following reasons:

  1. The Ethereum Blockchain will allow users to purchase gold in small amounts. Unbanked customers and those wishing to invest and store their wealth in gold will no longer need to purchase and store physical gold nor invest out of their means for it. Rather they will be able to purchase small amounts and feel safe it is being backed by the blockchain.
  2. The HelloGold Ethereum blockchain will be run on a private network to avoid paying infrastructure fees per transaction, reduce transaction latency and avoid the risk of independent developers adding their own contracts onto the HelloGold Blockchain. This means that HelloGold and the other nodes will control the block times, ensuring customer gold transactions are completed efficiently. (Currently the Kovan test-net seals blocks every four seconds).

The gold bought and sold is of investment grade (99.99% purity) and will be securely vaulted with an independent, LBMA approved vaulting operator in Singapore. The vaulting provider has not been currently selected — though it will be once the HelloGold Foundation completes its crowdsale and uses funds to purchase the requisite amount of gold necessary to secure each GBT token. Furthermore, GBT has been recognized as Shariah complaint by Amanie Advisors based on the AAOIFI Shariah Standard on Gold. Additional HelloGold partners include:

  1. Fenbushi Capital. Dr. Bo Shen, General Partner at Fenbushi Capital, has also joined HelloGold’s board of advisors to support its mission to democratize gold and promote financial inclusion.
  2. ICOAGE — which is now working to promote HelloGold Tokens in the Chinese market.

To obtain the capital necessary for implementing its vision, the HelloGold Foundation (HGF) will create a fixed number of 1,000,000,000 (one billion) HGT, prior to the Token Sale. These will be released in 3 Rounds. Each Round is anticipated to be run at 12 month intervals. Should there be sufficient interest in the Token Sale and no major changes to its structure, Round 1 is estimated to be launched on 28 August 2017 — it will involve 5 tranche’s according to the following chart:

HGF are asking supporters to complete registration through a Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process prior to providing funds to HGF. The best way to register is through their website. However, US & Singapore citizens, green card holders, permanent residents, and tax residents are excluded from the Token Sale due to securities regulation.

Lead Team (information taken from company website):

  • Robin Lee (President)

Robin is the former CFO of the World Gold Council and brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts about the gold market. He was the principal accounting officer for SPDR Gold Trust (‘GLD’), the world’s largest gold fund, which held over US$30 billion in assets under management. His WGC experience includes supporting the launch of the world’s first exchange traded, wholesale kilo gold contract and introducing a gold savings program with ICBC which generated annual sales of $6.5 billion.

  • Harith Kamarul (Secretary)

Harith was previously working in field force project management at Great Eastern Life, Malaysia’s largest life insurance provider. His role covered various tasks ranging from data handling and strategy work to training and event management. Harith has experience as a researcher and producer for BFM 89.9, a Malaysian business radio station, and graduated magna cum laude with a BSc in Actuarial Science from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

  • Roger Ward (Treasurer)

Roger is a strategy consultant, having worked at Bain and Deloitte. He also has experience working in the gold industry, having worked at the World Gold Council developing strategy and managing complex projects in London, Singapore and New York. This included supporting the launch of the world’s first exchange traded, wholesale kilo gold contract as well as providing support to the world’s largest gold fund, SPDR GLD. Roger has a First Class MA Hons in History from the University of Edinburgh.

  • Wykeen Seet (CTO)

Wykeen was previously VP at Bangkok Bank in Thailand where he led multiple projects including Mobile Banking, B2B Gateway, International Remittance, and Credit Related Systems over a period of 8 years. Prior to Bangkok Bank, he was a software engineer at Digital Applications International Limited. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Manchester where he completed his Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Computer Science and received a 1st class in Bachelors of Science.

Advisors (information taken from company website):

  • Andras Kristof

Andras is an entrepreneur and digital currency technology expert. He has 20+ years of IT experience building robust, scalable systems. He started working with blockchains in 2013, including Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum. After a successful exit from viki.com, he founded Tembusu Systems in late 2013. Andras is currently CTO of Yojee in Singapore, a distributed logistics platform making logistics more effective. Andras is co-author of the ‘Handbook of Digital Currency’.

  • Herbert Chain

Herb served as audit partner for 27 years with Deloitte prior to his mandatory retirement in May 2015, including as audit partner on SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which at the time was the largest ETF in the world. He has in depth experience in areas including auditing, management consulting, due diligence, SEC filings, and IPO listing. Herb received his MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and currently serves as Professor at St. John’s University (NY).

  • David Lee

David was founder of multiple companies including Left Coast, LiBai and Ferrell Group, and a founding investor in ZCash, Qtum, TenX, and various other blockchain companies and cryptocurrencies. He is also a Professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Read the full review here.

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