Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a special administrative zone of Bhutan, announced on Wednesday that it is launching a sovereign gold-backed digital token called TER.
The physical gold deposits will be custodied by DK Bank, a digital asset bank regulated by the government of Bhutan, and issued on the Solana Blockchain network, according to GMC’s announcement.
Matrixdock, a real-world asset tokenization (RWA) platform, is the technology partner responsible for tokenizing the real-world asset on the blockchain.
In the first phase, the tokens will be held in custody at the bank, with the exact rollout dates still unclear. Purchasing TER tokens is structured to be as secure and familiar as acquiring physical gold from a major financial institution, notes the announcement.
The rollout of a sovereign-backed tokenized gold product is a hedge against currency inflation in the digital age and another step in the country’s blockchain adoption strategy, according to GMC’s announcement.
Bhutan Embraces Crypto and Blockchain Technology
The government of Bhutan has embraced cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as a way to modernize the country’s payment system and boost the tourism sector, with the goal of becoming a regional cryptocurrency hub.
Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin (BTC) since 2019 with hydroelectric power, and the country holds nearly 6,000 BTC, valued at over $540 million at the time of this writing, according to Arkham Intelligence.
In January, the GMC announced a digital asset reserve containing BTC, Ether (ETH), and BNB (BNB), which later expanded to include modest sums of memecoins and other altcoins.
Bhutan partnered with DK Bank and Binance Pay in May to provide tourists with a method to pay for hotels, tour guides, and tickets using over 100 cryptocurrencies.
Over 1,000 businesses in Bhutan accept crypto payments through the partnership with Binance Pay and DK Bank.
Damcho Rinzin, the director of Bhutan’s Department of Tourism, stated that the adoption of crypto payments helps the country’s tourism industry, which has struggled due to a lack of robust payment infrastructure.