Canada Seeks to Turn Coins Into Digital Currency

Last month, Canada announced that it would eliminate its penny. Now the Royal Canadian Mint is using one of the oldest forms of currency, gold, to attract software developers to its project, the MintChip Challenge, to transform the country’s remaining coins into digital currency. The creators of the best digital payment application entered in the contest will receive a gold wafer currently worth about $17,000. Unlike some digital payment systems, the MintChip has low aspirations. It is only intended to pay for low-value items, physically or online. Since Canada long ago replaced $1 and $2 banknotes with coins, that effectively means anything worth less than $5 to $10.