COVID-19 has raised serious questions about the stability of the current financial system. Stock markets have plummeted, currencies have dropped in value, and predictions state that the world economy will shrink by 5.2 percent in 2020.
Throughout the uncertainty, one precious metal has remained reliable, and even increased in value — gold.
Gold has historically been a safe haven in crises due to its desirable physical properties, intrinsic value, and finite supply. In the pandemic, gold has steadily gone up in price, and at the beginning of August hit an all-time high of $2,018.60 per ounce.
Gold’s resilience in the face of an economic downturn highlights its potential to be a safe alternative to fiat currencies.
Prior to the pandemic, US fintech, Coro Global Inc. recognized that gold was a historical failsafe, repeatedly turned to in order to protect people’s money.
In response, the company has built an app where users can buy, save, and pay with gold. Users purchase gold in US dollars and exchange between dollars and gold directly on the platform.
This week, the CORO app was officially launched on the App Store and Google Play. Residents of Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, Alaska, Montana, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin can begin using the app.
Onboarding for the CORO app will take place over the next few days, and additional US states will become eligible in the coming weeks.
A fairer financial system
In the existing system of fiat currencies, the value of money and people’s savings is dependent on political decisions and central bank policies. Moreover, these decisions do not always prioritize people’s personal money.
For example, as the US government continues to print money to stimulate economic activity, it inadvertently risks increasing inflation in the country – which could significantly reduce the purchasing power of the dollar and people’s savings.
“CORO was designed to facilitate the return of gold as money, democratizing access to this universal form of money for current and future generations” — J. Mark Goode
Gold, on the other hand, is not influenced by action taken in traditional financial institutions; it cannot be manipulated and is therefore a more trustworthy form of money.
Despite the many advantages of owning gold, only 12 percent of the US population do. Because of the precious metal’s value, it has often been inaccessible to the masses, reserved only for the wealthy or powerful.
However, as COVID-19 is proving, gold offers a level of stability that should be within every person’s reach.
By creating an app for everyday people to access gold, Coro is democratizing gold and empowering people from all economic backgrounds to take control of their personal finances.
J. Mark Goode, CEO of Coro Global Inc., says that “CORO was designed to facilitate the return of gold as money, democratizing access to this universal form of money for current and future generations.”
Already, 3,000 clients are on the waiting list for the CORO app, highlighting the noticeable demand for gold as a method of payment. Until now, there hasn’t been a clear, and modern, avenue to harness the power of gold.
Heightened financial security
CORO is the first gold payment app to utilize cutting-edge Hashgraph Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The high-speed, next-generation DLT has already been adopted by tech giants like IBM, LG, and Google to boost security and trust within sensitive transactions.
In the CORO app, DLT facilitates 500,000 transactions per second, as well as protects against cyber attacks, ensuring that users’ money and personal information is secure at all times.
CORO users directly own the gold they buy (unlike with exchange-traded funds and gold mine stocks), which is stored in vaults and audited by an independent party.
Coming soon, users will also be able to withdraw their physical gold at any time and have it shipped to their doorstep.
Disclosure: This article features a client of an Espacio portfolio company
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