Gold is a haven in periods of political instability, or so it is often said. But in such periods, property laws may not be enforceable. Holders of gold face the question of how to access, transport and store their wealth without attracting unwelcome attention.
Southeast Asian cultures have long had a cultural affinity for gold, both as an investment and for cultural and religious purposes such as jewellery, decoration and gifts. In the Second World War, General Tomoyuki Yamashita, acting on behalf of Imperial Japan, looted much of the gold in the region, expropriating it from both private and official sources. It has been suggested that as much as 6,000 tonnes was stolen. Similar action was taken in Europe by Nazi Germany, with expropriation taking place on a massive scale, at the barrel of a gun.
While these are extreme examples, it is worth noting that seizure of gold is not unique to wars or violent dictatorships. Only 50 years ago, well within living memory, it was illegal to possess gold as a private American citizen under President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 6102 of 1933. And this was not a mere wartime or Depression-era expedient - the situation continued for over 40 years, until Gerald Ford signed a countervailing law in 1974. Nor was this order lightly enforced. Numerous individuals were prosecuted - many were fined and imprisoned, and had their gold seized.
Some gold investors may think that, while this is outrageous, we live in a different world now, and that such actions would be infeasible or politically impossible. At DuBois, however, we believe in adopting a safety-first attitude - and we do not want to make assumptions that could jeopardise our future prosperity. So we’ve thought long and hard about these issues. Our solution is built around two fundamental pillars - one very modern and based on the latest technology, and one much older and based on a robust legal system and long-established political stability.
(i) Digitised title to physical gold, secured on blockchain. DuBois’ products offer a digital certificate of ownership for a specific physical kilobar of gold bullion (uniquely identified by its serial number) held in independent Swiss vaults. By storing your title on an immutable blockchain, we ensure that you always possess irrefutable evidence of ownership of your gold, wherever you are in the world. DuBois offer this service in two flavours to suit any budget - KBAR for whole kilobars and DAU for divisible co-ownership.
(ii) The security of LBMA-accredited Swiss vaults, with the peace of mind and certainty that comes from over a century of political independence and a system of property rights overseen by an independent judiciary.
By using these two pillars together, DuBois believes that our clients will be able to withstand even the most intense global political instability in the decades to come. Our platform enables our clients to reliably prove ownership and access their gold at will, while simultaneously freeing them of the need to physically secure and transport it in what could be a volatile political environment in their home country.