Karim Raffa: Gold for the 21st Century

Tom welcomes Karim Raffa Chief Operating Officer of Cache Gold to the show. Karim discusses his background in Fintech and blockchain technologies and what led him to begin working with Gregor Gregersen based in Singapore. Cache Gold is a digital asset-backed token where every unit is backed by one gram of pure physical gold. The purpose of Cache is to simply enable conversion and redemption of gold to tokens and back. Holders of cache gold can redeem these tokens and exchange them freely with others just like other ERC-20 tokens. Various exchanges and bullion dealers around the world accept Cache Gold. They chose the Ethereum blockchain for its versatility and ability to create custom digital contracts. They utilize an public event-based explorer that records the history of every gold bar in their vaults. They track all activities of the gold including its location, purity, weight, history along with a photograph of each vault parcel. He discusses how Tether is supposed to operate and compares it with Cache. Cache is completely transparent and auditable unlike questionable services and stablecoins like Tether. He explains their fee structures for using the platform and how those are automated. If you want exposure to physical gold without being concerned about storing and acquiring the physical product then CGT may be an excellent method. They plan to add silver, nickel, and cobalt in the future to their platform. They are considering an NFT version of their tokens leveraging the digital receipts of actual physical bars in the vault. Time Stamp References:0:00 - Introduction0:32 - His Background2:31 - What is Cache3:23 - Redeeming Cache4:13 - Why Use Blockchain6:54 - Cache Explorer10:18 - Physical Deposits11:46 - Storage and Fees14:15 - Transferring Cache16:28 - Cache Comparisons18:15 - Fungible Gold Receipt20:10 - Redeemable & Portable21:02 - Issuance of Cache23:34 - Tracking Gold24:56 - Fiat Exchange27:20 - Singapore Jurisdiction27:51 - Future Goals & NFTs30:13 - Wrap Up Talking Points From This Episode * His background and how he became COO of Cache Gold* Purpose of Cache Gold and it's versatility.* Transparency and details about the token and block explorer.* Fees, Jurisdiction and the future plans for Cache. Guest LinksTwitter: https://twitter.com/cache_goldWebsite: https://cache.goldExplorer: https://explorer.cache.gold Karim comes from a banking background and has been working in Financial Technology and Blockchain since 2015. Till 2020 he was the Director of Strategy and Ventures at a Venture-Builder focused on Core Banking Technology where he set up and managed new ventures in Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the UK. His background includes: * Karim has been named one of the Top 100 Fintech Influencers GloballSy by Onalytica.* Singapore Ambassador for the World Innovations Forum Foundation, helping entrepreneurs bring their solutions successfully to global markets.* Show Host on BTCN.TV, showcasing inspiring conversations about business, tech, and beyond.* Partner at Winky Solutions, consulting services for early-stage startups raising capital.* Consulting Producer on Our Broken Chains, a documentary about race, inequality, and the economic impact of racism.