For centuries now, since the invention of money, gold has been an investors’ safe haven asset.
Prized as a valuable commodity throughout human history, investors tend to move their funds into gold assets during periods of uncertainty, leading to price hikes.
As a result, the price of gold is inversely proportional to volatile assets, such as the US dollar stocks and real estate. Low supply and high demand, market uncertainty and vitality, as well as falling US dollars have pushed gold prices up.
Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 earlier this year, the value of assets like stock and real estate have depreciated. But over the last five years, the price of gold has risen by £484.60 per ounce.
With the recession looming, entering the burgeoning gold trade is an excellent way of capitalising on an asset that is gaining momentum as it possesses a reputation for stability.
However, the gold market is notoriously difficult to enter for everyday investors. This is where Everest Gold’s digital innovations may change the game.
A Golden Opportunity
Earlier this year, Everest Gold created and launched a first-of-its-kind digital trading platform for gold. Using the app, you can trade gold on the go in real-time, instantaneously, and at affordable prices.
Traditionally, barriers to entry for gold trading are high, and are often reserved for governments, corporations and wealthy investors. Gold is also traded at banks for a premium, reducing return on investments.
On top of that, the absence of gold trading facilities in Singapore prevents investors from leveraging on real-time gold prices. Security, storage and other inconveniences also deter new investors from entering the market.
To address these problems, Singapore-based fintech gold trading company Everest Gold created and launched a first-of-its-kind digital trading platform for gold earlier this year.
With this app, users can trade gold on the go in real-time, instantaneously and at affordable prices.
“We identified the need to fill the missing gap in the local trading market,” said a spokesperson for Everest Gold. “Our investment app is a faster, easier and a more cost-effective solution.”
Trade Gold On The Go
Built to be a “one-stop gold trading platform,” Everest Gold digitises gold trading and makes it accessible to everyone, not just a minority of the rich and wealthy.
It is created for both beginner and expert investors — the app’s interface is streamlined for ease of use, and features guidance and knowledge on gold trading. It is also equipped with a team of customer service officers to provide online support.
“There will be new roll-outs of tutorial videos online, as well as all major media networks for wider dissemination on gold investment,” said the spokesperson.
Gold trading is portable; you can trade in gold coins or bullion (gold bars) from a smartphone or laptop without the hassle of visiting a bank.
To ensure that even those with modest starting sums can trade, basic units available start from 0.01 grams in gold assets. Equivalent to 1 Everest Gold Unit (EGU), smaller units make gold trading affordable, accessible, and flexible.
Gold traded on Everest Gold is sold at fairer prices than gold traded in banks. 1 EGU is bought at a 0.2249 discount relative to the gold sold in banks (/0.01g).
The app doesn’t have closing times or long bureaucratic waits either, which means that investors can trade 24/7 instantaneously.
Unlike banks, the app does not contain any hidden costs, premiums or transaction fees. Real-time market fluctuations are reflected in-app and vary over 17,000 times a day.
Capital exchange is easy — investors can liquidate immediately after trading gold assets. Alternatively, your physical gold assets can also be collected from Everest Gold’s depositories by submitting a request in-app.
Why Trust and Security Is A “Top Priority”
However, when it comes to online gold trading, Everest Gold spokesperson told Vulcan Post that scams and the negative connotation of being associated with laundering efforts often comes to mind, and remains a “key challenge.”
This is why cultivating customer trust is a “top priority” for the firm. Rigorous security developments and compliance with legal requirements have always been the central focus for them.
In fact, Everest Gold is regulated under the Singapore’s Precious Stones and Metals Act (2019).
To defend data privacy, the app is also securely encrypted by industry-standard 256-bit SSL and has strict verification procedures, including biometric authentication.
Everest Gold also ensures that all its processes and assets are above-board and 100 per cent transparent.
It even partnered industry leading companies to ensure that it delivers top-notch gold assets, storage, auditing and authorisation processes to its users.
Investment-grade gold bars are acquired in partnership with Metalor, a leading Swiss metal dealer. Every quarter, Everest Gold is also audited by Crowe, the world’s eight largest accounting firm.
To protect Everest Gold’s assets, the company has employed luxury storage expert Malca-Amit to secure their gold in highly secure facilities.
Everest Gold then transfers the ownership of the gold purchased digitally to customers, under the care of gold custodian Pacific Trustees Singapore.
Gold Investment Will Continue To Soar
Gold is becoming increasingly valuable as the economy wanes during the pandemic. Everest Gold ascertains that “it is clear the value of gold does not depreciate and demand is still sought after.”
Despite launching a beta in March, Everest Gold has already gained almost 100,000 downloads from the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia.
The app launch comes at the perfect time, as market swings and a looming recession drive gold prices up further.
During the beta testing, a week-long competition was held from 23 to 29 May. It recorded over 300 million EGU transacted, with a total transaction amount of over S$600 million.
According to Everest Gold, users attest to the app’s ease of use, secure authentication and speedy transactions.
“The platform is well built and user-friendly … Authentication is astoundingly secure and transaction is speedy,” said Dickson Laude, a competitor from the Philippines.
As the group expands, Everest Gold will introduce diversified investments for everyday investors to grow their wealth.
“We also hope to launch other services in asset management; business loans and property investment in the near future,” said their spokesperson.
Everest Gold is available for download on Android, iOS and desktop. Official trading features are already available, and the first issuance of gold takes place from 3 to 9 July.
For more information, check out Everest Gold’s website here.
In line with this year’s National Day celebrations, Everest Gold will be giving 400,000 reward points (worth 55 SGD) for every new-sign up upon successful account verification. Reward points can be converted to gold during Gold Subscription Events. Enter referral code “WALWQ” when you register your Everest Gold account. Promotion valid from 8 to 31 Aug.
This article was written in collaboration with Everest Gold.
Featured Image Credit: Everest Gold
