Digital gold currency

Digital gold currency

Digital gold currency (or DGC) is a form of electronic money based on ounces of gold. It is a kind of representative money, like a US paper gold certificate at the time (prior to 1933) that these were exchangeable for gold on demand. The typical unit of account for such currency is the gold gram or the troy ounce, although other units such as the gold dinar are sometimes used. DGCs are backed by gold through unallocated or allocated gold storage.

Digital gold currencies are issued by a number of companies, each of which provides a system that enables users to pay each other in units that hold the same value as gold bullion. These competing providers issue independent currency, which normally carries the same name as their company. In terms of the most popular providers, e-gold has the greatest number of users and GoldMoney holds the greatest quantity of bullion (as of January 2007[update]).