Streamex Corp. shares gained more than 15% on Tuesday, extending volatile trading in a stock that remains deeply underwater for the year. The company’s shares are down 64.8% year-to-date and have slid 60.9% over the past 12 months.
In an exclusive interview with Investing.com, Streamex co-founder and chief executive Henry McPhie described the mechanics of GLDY, the firm’s flagship tokenized-gold product that is structured to deliver a 3.5% annual return payable in physical gold.
McPhie said the yield is generated by gold leasing - a long-established practice in the bullion market. Institutional counterparties, he said, including jewelers, refiners and bullion banks, pay to lease the metal while token holders continue to maintain title.
"The yield comes from gold leasing, which is a well-established practice that has existed in the bullion market for decades," McPhie said, adding that institutional counterparties including jewelers, refiners and bullion banks pay a lease rate to use the gold while token holders retain title throughout.
To lower counterparty exposure for token holders, Streamex layers a number of protections into GLDY’s structure. According to McPhie, each bar is RFID-tagged to enable tracking while it is on the lessee’s premises. Positions are over-collateralized, meaning lessees must post collateral in excess of the gold they use. The company also cites two layers of insurance from tier-1 carriers and ongoing operational controls such as spot checks and inventory audits performed over the term of each lease.
"The gold itself is RFID-tagged so we can track it inside the lessee’s facility. Every position is over-collateralized, so the lessee posts collateral worth more than the gold they are using," McPhie explained. "We carry two layers of insurance from tier-1 carriers. And we run spot checks and ongoing inventory audits during the term of every lease."
Streamex frames the arrangement as akin to secured institutional lending while emphasizing that the investor's title to the physical metal remains intact at all times. Reserves backing GLDY are reported to be verified in real time through an on-chain oracle, Chainlink, and are audited monthly by EisnerAmper.
"In practice, it looks a lot more like secured institutional lending, except the investor’s title to the gold is never impaired in the first place," McPhie said.
McPhie addressed what would happen if a lessee became insolvent. He said GLDY leases are structured as operating leases rather than credit instruments, and the gold is not commingled with the lessee’s balance sheet nor pledged into their capital structure. As a result, he contended, the metal would not form part of the lessee’s credit estate and thus would not be available to creditors. Any shortfall, he added, would be covered by the over-collateralization and insurance layers.
"Our leases are operating leases. There is no credit component, no debt instrument, and the gold is not commingled with the lessee’s balance sheet or pledged into their capital structure," McPhie said. "If a lessee enters bankruptcy, the gold is not part of their credit estate and cannot be reached by their creditors. It gets returned, and any gap is covered by the over-collateralization and the insurance layers sitting in front of the investor."
For investors seeking liquidity, McPhie said GLDY holders may redeem at any time on a T+2 basis, selecting U.S. dollars, USDC or delivery of physical metal. He noted there is no lock-up period and characterized the near-term trading experience as approaching the liquidity profile of an equity.
"There is no lock-up. In the near term, it will look even more like trading a stock. We are launching a full secondary market for GLDY together with instant mint and redeem liquidity from institutional market makers," he said.
Beyond GLDY, Streamex intends to expand its tokenization architecture to other real assets. McPhie said the company is developing a non-security version of GLDY to widen access, then plans to introduce tokenized silver, followed by a royalties and streams product. He identified royalties and streams as a category of particular interest because of their cash-flow characteristics, and listed copper, oil and gas on the roadmap as well.
"Next up is a non-security version of GLDY to broaden access," McPhie said. "After that, silver, then a tokenized royalties and streams product, which is a category we are particularly focused on because those cash flows already behave like yield-bearing real assets. Copper, oil, and gas are also on the roadmap."
He framed the broader business thesis as applying the same core elements - title-bearing ownership, insurance, auditability and on-chain verification - across a wider range of physical and cash-flowing assets where those features can support a yield.
Summary
Streamex’s GLDY uses conventional gold-leasing arrangements to generate a stated 3.5% annual yield payable in physical gold. The product employs RFID tracking, over-collateralization, dual insurance layers, on-chain reserve verification via Chainlink and monthly audits by EisnerAmper to mitigate counterparty risk. Investors may redeem on T+2 in dollars, USDC or physical metal. Streamex plans to roll out a non-security GLDY and expand tokenized offerings to silver, royalties and other commodities.
Key points
- GLDY is structured to deliver a 3.5% yield through established gold-leasing arrangements involving jewelers, refiners and bullion banks - impacts precious metals and fintech sectors.
- Counterparty protections include RFID tracking, over-collateralization, two insurance layers, spot checks and monthly audits by EisnerAmper - relevant to custodial and insurance markets.
- Streamex intends to broaden the platform to a non-security GLDY, silver, tokenized royalties and other commodities such as copper, oil and gas - affecting commodities finance and digital-asset markets.
Risks and uncertainties
- Operational and custody risks remain relevant - although RFID tracking, audits and insurance are employed, the article indicates ongoing reliance on lessee facilities and operational controls.
- Counterparty insolvency scenarios are addressed by operating-lease structuring and collateral, but outcomes depend on the effectiveness of over-collateralization and insurance layers.
- Liquidity and market execution depend on the planned secondary market and institutional market makers; near-term liquidity could differ from established public markets.