Glint’s clients have been the big winners as they flocked to gold, the safe haven currency of last resort, as the markets swung violently over the last few weeks on fears of a global economic downturn.

Global stock markets lost some USD 6 trillion to date, but even after a brief rally, shares around the world arguably had their worst day since the financial crisis of 2008, with the dramatic falls leading to the day being dubbed "Black Monday.” According to the Wall Street Journal 1 of 19 March 2020, the DJ Industrial Average and the S&P 500 have lost around 30% since they peaked in mid-February.

Compounding the situation is the ongoing tussle between Saudi Arabia and Russia over crude oil production levels, which has seen benchmark crude oil prices collapse to below USD 30/barrel for WTI and Brent crude.2

Central banks around the world have cut interest rates and governments have injected massive amounts of money into the financial system to try to prevent further declines in equities and fend off corporate bankruptcies. They are using the firepower they have to prevent what is by now a probable recession into becoming a serious depression.

Conversely the price of gold has hit some high points in both GBP and USD, trading on 19 March 2020 at USD 1,470 per ounce.

To date, Glint has more than 74,000 app downloads, tens of thousands of registered users and more than GBP 69 million in transacted volume.

Stock markets have recovered somewhat as central banks and governments have injected paper money into the financial system. However, this not a signal of ‘things returning to normal.’ Not least because it is no longer clear what that ‘normal’ might be - too many shocks are around.

In such politically and macro-economically volatile times it is natural that people search for safe havens -and gold has throughout history been seen as one of the safest. Gold has historically been a better store of value than any government created currencies, which typically erodes over time. Since 1970, the U.S. dollar has lost 86% of its purchasing power due to inflation2, whereas over the same period if you had held your wealth in gold, your purchasing power would have risen 505%1 (inflation adjusted).

In 1970, a cheeseburger would have cost you USD 0.55 cents in the US. In 2018, the same cheeseburger cost USD 3.47 due to the increase of U.S. annual average inflation, thus decreasing the value of the U.S. dollar. In 1970, a gram of gold would have bought you two cheeseburgers, whereas today a gram of gold would allow you to purchase twelve cheeseburgers. 2

“Glint’s mission to bring a reliable gold currency to the fingertips of everyone in the world is being validated as the global economy unravels,” said Jason Cozens, Founder and CEO of Glint. “Glint offers an alternative that is valued globally anytime, anywhere. Welcome to money’s new standard.”