I-ON Digital Corp: Positioned at the Apex of Tier-1 Asset Evolution

How Basel III and Gold 's Reclassification as a Tier-1 Asset Validates the ION.au Treasury Model

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS / ACCESS Newswire / July 11, 2025 /By Carlos X. Montoya, Chairman & CEO, I-ON Digital Corp

In May 2025, Forbes reaffirmed a global financial shift already underway: gold has officially ascended under Basel III as a Tier-1 reserve asset, on par with sovereign debt and fiat currency reserves. This critical evolution marks the culmination of decades of central bank and institutional positioning, and now presents a transformational opportunity for digital finance innovators like I-ON Digital Corp. (OTCQB:IONI).

The ION.au digital asset-backed security (ABS) token - overcollateralized by physical, in-situ gold reserves and structured in full compliance with GAAP, IFRS, and SEC Reg AB standards - is now uniquely suited to operate as a digital rail for Tier-1 gold assets across borders, jurisdictions, and institutions.

Why Basel III Changes Everything

Basel III - the international regulatory framework for banks - elevated allocated physical gold to Tier-1 status in a push to restore balance sheet integrity after decades of synthetic leverage. Unlike "paper gold, " which previously carried haircut risks, physical gold held in the institution 's name now enjoys 0% risk-weighting - in other words, full credit as core capital.

This is not a theoretical policy nuance. It is a structural re-prioritization that affects trillions of dollars in global capital flows.

As Forbes noted, gold has now gone "full reserve asset. " Banks, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks are rebalancing in real time - moving from devaluing fiat and speculative risk toward digitally-native, gold-backed capital that can operate in a regulatory-compliant financial stack.

ION.au: A Basel-Ready, Digitized Gold Instrument

I-ON Digital Corp anticipated this shift years ago, developing the ION.au token as a fully digital representation of Tier-1 asset backing:

• Backed 5:1 (5 ozs gold to 1 ION.au) by audited, NI 43-101 verified in-situ gold reserves

• Valued at LBMA PM Spot + 2% Premium, reinforcing institutional price integrity

• Compliant with ASC 820, IFRS 9, Rule 144A, ESMA, and Reg AB II

• Treatable as a financial instrument under both GAAP and IFRS

• Treasury-based structure allows for active rehypothecation and yield generation

What distinguishes ION.au is that it is not just a store of value - it is a capital formation instrument that bridges gold 's traditional scarcity with modern liquidity.

Transforming Treasury into a Yield-Bearing Engine

With Basel III demanding Tier-1 assets, financial institutions and digital funds are seeking mechanisms to tokenize and mobilize their gold reserves without sacrificing capital integrity.

ION.au offers this in a structured, tokenized framework that:

• Enables yield-generating staking and rehypothecation, with transparent disclosures

• Supports smart contract-based collateralization for lending, payments, or settlement

• Powers derivative products like the Goldfish Token, a consumer-facing, fractionalized stable unit backed by ION.au

This treasury model is the backbone of I-ON 's forward strategy: using real, overcollateralized gold reserves to create trusted, programmable, Tier-1 capital that can be deployed across traditional and decentralized finance rails.

An Institutional Bridge from Analog to Digital

Tier-1 assets no longer have to live in dusty vaults. Through ION.au, they can:

• Be integrated into bank treasury strategies

• Serve as on-chain settlement reserves

• Underpin cross-border trade finance and central bank digital asset initiatives

We believe ION.au 's duality - physical backing + digital compliance - solves the trust gap that many institutions face when evaluating tokenized assets.

Conclusion: From Gold-Backed to Gold-Built

I-ON Digital Corp was founded on the thesis that the next financial paradigm would require gold-backed digital rails. With Basel III codifying gold 's Tier-1 status, that thesis is now market reality.

The ION.au token, and the treasury framework that supports it, offers institutions a pathway to digitize and deploy gold as a regulatory-aligned, revenue-generating asset.

We stand ready to be the partner of choice for banks, sovereign entities, and institutional investors seeking Tier-1 capital solutions for the tokenized era.

Referenced article:Forbes - Gold Goes Full Reserve Asset

Learn more at:iondigitalcorp.com

Contact:investors@iondigitalcorp.com

SOURCE:I-ON Digital Corp

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