307: Tokenizing Gold: Why DeFi Needs This $200B Market

Is gold ready for Web3?In this episode, I chat with Cole from Global Gold, who’s building a decentralized ecosystem for tokenized gold. Cole reveals how the U.S. is fast becoming the center of global gold flows, and why tokenizing U.S.-vaulted gold is the next big move in real-world assets (RWAs). From gold-backed stablecoins to a decentralized gold exchange, Cole breaks down how Global Gold is putting one of humanity’s oldest assets to work on-chain — creating liquidity, yield, and new DeFi opportunities.If you’ve ever wondered how gold fits into the future of crypto, DeFi, or stablecoins, this is your episode.[00:01:00] Cole’s journey from trading crypto to building protocols[00:02:30] Why now is the perfect time to tokenize U.S. gold[00:03:45] Global Gold's products: tokenized gold, exchange, and vaults[00:05:00] Making gold a yield-generating asset in DeFi[00:06:15] Legal ownership and transparency through serial-numbered bars[00:07:15] Using Chainlink and custom proof-of-reserve mechanisms[00:08:30] Institutional-grade infrastructure and Wyoming-based vaults[00:09:45] How gold in DeFi unlocks lending, staking, and treasury diversification[00:11:00] Gold vs Bitcoin in bear markets — why it matters[00:12:00] Basel III: Why banks are allowed to hold gold as tier-1 assets[00:13:45] The difference between physical vs tokenized gold ownership[00:14:45] Liquidity, lending, and staking with tokenized gold[00:16:00] Meme coins as a marketing funnel — Golden’s $30M day-one cap[00:19:30] Roadmap: Vaults, NFT, Exchange, Lending Protocol[00:21:00] Key challenges ahead: regulation and hiring top talent[00:23:00] Raising a seed round and expanding integrations[00:24:30] The vision: a global commodities exchange on-chainhttps://globalgold.finance/https://x.com/GlobalGoldXhttps://x.com/GOLDNonchainhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/colechapman/Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research.It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/⏱️ Key Learnings & TimestampsConnect with Cole and Global Gold⚠️ Disclaimer