From Gold to Blockchain – Casa de Moneda Chile Reinvents Itself for the 21st Century

Despite being the oldest company in Chile (it was founded in 1743), in the last four years the state-owned firm Casa de Moneda Chile (CMC) has gone, in the words of its General Manager Mauricio Roco, ‘from the physical to the cloud’.

The first product to come out of the CMC was a half-ounce gold coin with the image of King Ferdinand VI of Spain. This was in 1779, long before Chile was Chile. Throughout its history the institution has been dedicated to producing coins, medals and, more recently, banknotes (since 1914), licence plates, drivers’ licences, circulation permits (ie. vehicle permits) and smart cards. In the last four years it has added new lines of business, including a service for storing valuables in its vaults, and is eyeing the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry with interest.