A gold trading company has a plan to make the industry for precious metals more sustainable using the technology behind bitcoin
- Tradewind raised $10.6 million from industry participants to build out its digital gold trading platform.
- Tradewind is working with companies across the gold industry to develop a way to keep track of gold along the supply chain to ensure sustainability.
Tradewind, a precious metals trading platform, has raised more than $10 million from big players in the gold industry as it aims to make the gold market more sustainable.
The company, which counts upstart stock exchange IEX as a backer, told Business Insider on Wednesday that it closed a $10.6 million fundraise involving gold companies Agnico, Goldcorp, Wheaton Precious Metals, IAMGOLD, and venture firm Sapphire Ventures. The fundraise is on the heels of a previous round earlier this year which raised $22.8 million.
The company's original mission was to enable the digital trading of gold on a blockchain-based trading platform. But it's also looking to improve aspects of the gold business across the supply chain, the company's president Matt Trudeau said in an interview.
"The digitization of physical assets makes them less costly to trade," Trudeau said.
The company is working with companies across the gold industry to develop a way to keep track of gold along the supply chain, from when it's mined to when it trades, to ensure sustainable practices are being utilized.
There have been similar initiatives in other markets. Some of the world's largest food companies are making a bet that blockchain technology, the digital ledger system that underlies bitcoin, can help improve food safety, as reported by my colleague Becky Peterson. Dole, Driscoll's, Tyson, and Nestlé are collaborating with IBM to develop a blockchain for the food supply system.
Tradewind is also expanding into new markets, including Asia and Europe, and plans to add new products to the marketplace including silver.