Gold is coming to the blockchain. And one of the world’s biggest banks is behind it.

What’s happening:

• HSBC Holdings has announced plans to tokenize physical gold held in London vaults onto the blockchain through the launch of a new platform
  
• They will initially allow institutions to buy and sell tokenized gold and are aiming to be able to eventually bring it to the masses
  

Why it matters:

• There have been a flurry of venture backed startups aiming to tokenize gold through blockchain technology as a way to usher gold into the digital age
  
• HSBC Holdings represents the first major banking institution to get behind the idea which will likely be seen as enormous validation for the concept
  

By the numbers:

• There are almost 700,000 gold bars stored in London and surrounding areas
  
• The value of that physical bullion is worth approximately $525 billion
  

Going deeper:

• Despite the enormous amount of gold physically being stored in London, all record keeping is done manually and all trading is done over the counter
  

The intrigue:

• HSBC has been experimenting with numerous different types of tokenization projects, including being able to issue digital bonds