RAAC Launches Testnet for $235m Gold-Backed RWA Platform

Today, we at RAAC - a decentralized Real World Asset (RWA) lending and borrowing ecosystem - are launching our testnet. This is an exciting moment for us after years of planning and strong institutional demand.

\ This demand has helped us secure $235 million in gold-backed deposits at launch from one of the largest gold reserves in North America as we pursue opportunities in US rental property and more.

\ Grounded in the $1.8 billion Curve ecosystem, RAAC is a member of the Chainlink Build program and has been incubated by The LLamas – a DeFi community that supports, builds, and promotes Curve ecosystem growth.

\ We are proud to say that Curve founder and RAAC advisor Michael Egorov is one of our key advisers. In our public announcement, he stated: “Most value in crypto is driven by DeFi and payments. However, as for DeFi, this value is currently derived mostly from crypto speculation.

\ “We need projects like RAAC to go beyond our crypto bubble, realize the true potential of programmable, decentralized money, and eventually have the global financial system naturally re-architected."

Initially, RAAC will develop protocols integrating gold-backed and real estate-backed tokens from asset owners through Instruxi – a leading institutional tokenization provider that serves both the digital and traditional asset space. 

\ These include Pretio DeFi Solutions, which - with its partners - has secured a contract with the North Terrace Mining Project in British Columbia to acquire 1 million troy ounces of proven gold reserves for tokenization.

\ At the time of tokenization, these reserves are valued at approximately $400 million—20% of a discounted spot price of $2,000 per troy ounce. Over a 10 to 15-year production cycle, once the gold is extracted, refined, and securely stored, the tokenized asset’s total estimated value could reach up to $3 billion, depending on market conditions and future gold prices.

\ The tokenization process will transform these proven gold reserves into fractional digital assets, which will be deposited into the Pretio Foundation DAO. The DAO Treasury will manage a comprehensive digital ecosystem that leverages on-chain liquidity and advanced DeFi protocols from the RAAC ecosystem.

\ This ecosystem will operate via stablecoins minted by the Pretio Treasury, initially backed by the gold reserves—and later by additional precious metals. At RAAC’s launch, Pretio will contribute an initial $235 million in treasury assets, with further assets to be added to the ecosystem over time.

\

Pier S. Bjorklund, manager of Pretio DeFi Solutions, says: "The North Terrace Mining Project exemplifies our commitment to innovation. Pretio DeFi and our partners are setting a new standard by seamlessly integrating traditional gold mining with state-of-the-art blockchain, decentralized finance technologies, and sustainable mining practices."

None of this has come overnight. RAAC has been in the works since 2023 when the Chainlk Build program snapped it up. This is not something we wanted to rush. Our team believes passionately in increasing access to the world’s most stable assets in one of the world’s most volatile sectors. We will achieve all this and more with RAAC. 

\ Rather than bring the next billion users into crypto - which the industry at large seems so fixated on - we want to bring the next $100 billion into the decentralized finance system. DeFi needs liquidity to thrive – liquidity from stable assets that can and will weather the bear markets that tend to drain the system when investors flee to safe havens. 

\ Mathew Harrowing, co-founder of Instruxi, puts it nicely when he says: “One of the biggest issues RWA tokenization faced was on-chain liquidity. RAAC solves that elegantly while providing a vehicle for asset holders and traditional finance institutions to get credible exposure to the DeFi market with a stable and predictable yield. It’s truly game-changing.”

\ RAAC’s testnet is available to non-US persons and will be followed by a closed beta. Currently, the Ethereum mainnet launch and Token Generation Event are scheduled for Q2. We look forward to moving through our roadmap and delivering the game-changing protocol that DeFi needs.

\ NOTE: RAAC is only available in a limited number of jurisdictions and is not available in the US

\n