Using its patent-pending technology, AURAM records the ownership of each individual gold bar as an NFT on a public blockchain, implementing the process of "transfer of possession by instruction" (Article 184 of the Japanese Civil Code) as a tamper-resistant record that anyone can verify.
AURAM Inc. (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Kazuhiro Fukuda; "AURAM") is pleased to announce that, using its in-house movable-asset digital ledger platform "AURAM" — which records and manages the ownership of movable assets such as gold bars as NFTs on a public blockchain — it has confirmed through a proof-of-concept (PoC) that, by applying Article 184 of the Civil Code ("transfer of possession by instruction"), the process of transferring ownership in a sale can be recorded and implemented on-chain while the gold bar remains stored in the vault, without any physical movement. This PoC is a first stage that verifies the technical behavior and legal structure, and the technology is patent-pending.
Toward commercializing gold-bar trading based on this technology, AURAM is seeking partnerships with warehousing operators who can provide custody of gold bars, as well as bullion dealers and precious-metals businesses willing to participate in transactions. We warmly welcome inquiries from interested companies.
“This proof-of-concept shows that the ownership of a physical asset can change hands as quickly and transparently as a blockchain record — without the gold ever leaving the vault. Our goal is to turn idle assets like gold into credit that owners can use without giving up title. We are now looking for warehousing and bullion partners to help us build this market.” — Kazuhiro Fukuda, Representative Director and CEO, AURAM Inc.
Highlights
Transferring ownership of a single gold bar without moving it from the vault: Using Article 184 of the Civil Code ("transfer of possession by instruction"), we successfully completed a PoC that records and implements the ownership-transfer process of a sale of a specific gold bar on a public blockchain, without moving the physical bar (no actual settlement of the purchase price is involved).
Under inquiry to the Ministry of Justice via METI's Gray Zone Elimination System: Regarding whether perfection against third parties is established under Article 184 ("transfer of possession by instruction"), AURAM holds a view based on advice from multiple attorneys, and to confirm it we have submitted an inquiry to the Ministry of Justice through METI's Gray Zone Elimination System (we are currently awaiting a response).
Transparency that anyone can verify, while protecting privacy: The ownership attribution and possession-transfer records can be independently verified by third parties on the public blockchain. At the same time, only wallet addresses and hash values not linked to real names are made public; sensitive information such as parties' real names, serial numbers, and original photos is not recorded on-chain but managed in a permissioned registry accessible only to KYB-screened businesses.
About the AURAM Platform
"AURAM" is a "movable-asset digital ledger" platform that records and manages the ownership attribution of real-world assets such as gold bars as transfer-restricted NFTs (a proprietary implementation referencing ERC-721).
Conventionally, many gold custody services offered by bullion dealers in Japan are structured as deposits for consumption under Article 666 of the Civil Code: ownership of the deposited gold passes to the dealer, and the customer holds only a "claim" to the return of gold of the same type, quantity, and quality. If the dealer goes bankrupt, the customer is treated as a general creditor and has no priority over the physical gold.
By contrast, the "allocated (specified) custody" model demonstrated in this PoC is fundamentally different in legal structure from deposit-for-consumption custody, in that the customer continues to hold ownership (a real right) of the gold bar. For a specific gold bar (a specific item), an identification hash generated from the manufacturer, engraving information, exterior photo, and so on is recorded on-chain, and owner information and status are managed on the ledger. Raw data such as serial numbers and original photos are managed off-chain (in the permissioned registry), and only hash values are recorded on-chain. This secures the tamper-resistance of the registered data while implementing the ownership transfer accompanying a sale digitally, using Article 184 ("transfer of possession by instruction").
The AURAM movable-asset digital ledger is a general-purpose design applicable not only to gold bars but to any movable asset that can be individually identified by a serial number or the like. All NFTs recorded on the ledger are published on the public blockchain Avalanche (the Fuji testnet for this PoC) and can be viewed and verified by anyone.
The ownership NFT issued in this PoC can be viewed and verified by anyone on the following public pages and on the public blockchain:
▶ AURAM Movable-Asset Digital Ledger — Public Status
▶ Ownership & Collateral Record (proof of possession transfer)
▶ View the public record directly on the blockchain (testnet environment)
About the Gold-Bar Trading Platform "KINGOT"
Building on the technical foundation demonstrated in this PoC, AURAM is developing the gold-bar trading platform "KINGOT." KINGOT aims to let corporate and individual customers buy and sell gold bars stored in a vault safely and online, without any physical movement.
KINGOT adopts real-time gold spot prices provided by Twelve Data to achieve transparent price formation. All transaction histories are recorded on the blockchain, and ownership attribution can be verified by anyone. We plan to begin offering an invitation-only limited service for corporate customers within fiscal 2026, and — after partnerships with warehousing operators are finalized — to roll out a full service and support individual customers from fiscal 2027 onward.
Overview of the Proof-of-Concept (PoC)
Objective
Using an NFT recording the ownership attribution of a gold bar, we executed and recorded the ownership-transfer process for an envisioned business-to-business sale under Article 184 ("transfer of possession by instruction"). Because the legal doctrine of possession transfer is itself well established, the main focus of this PoC was to confirm that the ownership transfer and the establishment of perfection against third parties can be implemented and reproduced as a tamper-resistant, independently verifiable record on a blockchain. Note that this PoC is intended to verify technical behavior and legal structure; no actual settlement of the purchase price (bank transfer) was performed.
Transaction Structure
For the purpose of verifying the platform's technology, this PoC was conducted between two companies both represented by our Representative Director, Kazuhiro Fukuda (HANDS ON Inc. as seller and AURAM Inc. as buyer). This is a first stage for verifying technical behavior and legal structure; going forward, we will advance verification involving independent third parties with no capital or management ties.
| Subject of transaction | One gold bar (100 g, 999.9, demonstration sample) |
|---|---|
| Individual identification | An identification hash generated from the manufacturer, engravings, exterior photo, etc. is recorded on-chain (raw data such as serial numbers is managed in the permissioned registry) |
| Parties | HANDS ON Inc. (seller) / AURAM Inc. (buyer) |
| Blockchain used | Avalanche Fuji testnet |
| NFT contract | 0x9FA28A295BE2997eA5D8a9cb2E20863fDe39acC9 |
| Price source | Gold spot price (Twelve Data, an international market data provider) |
| Transaction fee | None (no fees apply during the PoC period) |
Note: The ingot image and the engraving information (manufacturer name, serial number, etc.) registered and published in this PoC are all demonstration samples and do not represent any real, existing manufacturer's product. In the production service, the registration of an actual item will use the photo and engraving information of the very item being registered.
Transaction Flow
For a 100 g gold bar held by HANDS ON, we reproduced and verified the ownership-transfer process accompanying a sale. Specifically, using the gold spot price provided by Twelve Data (the JPY tax-inclusive price at the time of implementation) as the reference price, while the gold bar remained stored in a vault managed by a possession agent, we recorded the seller's instruction and the buyer's consent — as the delivery under "transfer of possession by instruction" (Article 184) — as separate blockchain transactions. The owner information of the NFT on the AURAM ledger was also updated to the buyer. Note that this PoC is intended to verify technical behavior and legal structure; no actual sale contract was concluded and no settlement of the purchase price (bank transfer) was performed. Were the same procedure carried out as a real transaction, upon the arrival of the buyer's consent the possession transfer would be established, and in AURAM's view perfection against third parties under Article 178 would be obtained (this point is currently under inquiry via the Gray Zone Elimination System).
Demo Video
We have published a demo video that follows the actual on-screen operations of the entire PoC sequence — from registering (minting) the gold bar's ownership NFT on the AURAM platform, to executing the sale, to recording the ownership transfer via transfer of possession by instruction.
How Third Parties Can Verify
The ownership attribution and possession-transfer history recorded on the AURAM platform can be verified by anyone using only the public records on the public blockchain, without going through AURAM's servers or authentication. Furthermore, we envision a "permissioned registry" through which industry stakeholders (bullion dealers, pawnbrokers, buyback specialists, precious-metals custodians, etc.) can independently verify that a physical gold bar correctly corresponds to its NFT on the ledger. A KYB-screened business can compare the physical item against the registered data (representative photo, engraving information, etc.) and confirm the bar's authenticity by matching it with the identification hash recorded on-chain.
Legal Basis
Inquiry under METI's Gray Zone Elimination System
Using the "Gray Zone Elimination System" under Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act, AURAM submitted an inquiry to the Ministry of Justice via METI in April 2026 regarding this business scheme. The inquiry concerns the interpretation that applying Article 184 ("transfer of possession by instruction") to a full transfer of ownership of a movable asset (a gold bar), perfection under Article 178 is obtained at the point when the seller issues an instruction to the possession agent on the AURAM platform and the buyer consents to it. We are currently awaiting the Ministry of Justice's response to this inquiry.
The Gray Zone Elimination System is not a licensing/authorization system, and neither the system nor any response constitutes governmental authorization or endorsement of our business or this PoC. AURAM's legal analysis is its own view based on prior advice from multiple attorneys, and the final confirmation is being pursued through this system.
Relationship with Applicable Laws
The NFTs issued by AURAM are transfer-restricted by smart contract and are designed so that they cannot be freely transferred or traded on a secondary market outside the platform. The NFT is a record on the "movable-asset digital ledger" that records ownership attribution; the NFT itself is not the object of a transaction. Unlike crypto assets linked to the gold price (so-called gold tokens) or foreign-currency-denominated gold-holding services offered by overseas operators, AURAM is characterized by recording and transferring, under Japanese law, the ownership (a real right) of a specific, single gold bar itself.
On this point, AURAM consulted the FSA's FinTech Support Desk and received the view that, on the premise of our explanation, the NFT is considered not to fall under either a collective investment scheme interest or a crypto asset.
Consistency with Industry Guidelines
In the "Guidelines on the Use of RWA (Real-World Asset) Tokens" published in March 2025 by the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA), "transfer of possession by instruction" is cited as a method for obtaining perfection against third parties in the transfer of tokens to which ownership of a movable asset is linked. The AURAM platform is designed in line with the requirements set out in those guidelines, implementing a mechanism that records the seller's issuance of an instruction and the buyer's consent as separate blockchain transactions. Regarding this business scheme, we have received prior legal advice from multiple attorneys to the effect that perfection against third parties can be validly obtained using Article 184.
Reference: A Public-Sector Precedent for Putting "Delivery Orders" On-Chain
There is also a precedent in the public sector for carrying out, on a blockchain, the procedures for transferring rights to physical goods stored in a warehouse without moving them. Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), the clearing organization of Japan Exchange Group (JPX), migrated in 2023 — in the delivery settlement of rubber futures on the Osaka Exchange — from the exchange of paper "delivery orders" (documents instructing the delivery of physical goods stored in a warehouse) to the online exchange of tokens recording that information (source: JPX/JSCC press release, January 30, 2023; this is an independent initiative with no capital or business relationship with our company). In general, delivery of physical goods via a delivery order is explained by the doctrine of "transfer of possession by instruction" (Article 184). AURAM's initiative is characterized by applying this doctrine to the transfer of "ownership" of each specific gold bar individually identified by a serial number and the like, and by recording the ownership attribution and possession-transfer history themselves in a form that anyone can independently verify.
Outlook
Building on the technical foundation demonstrated in this PoC, AURAM will accelerate development toward the full launch of KINGOT. We are advancing partnership discussions with warehousing operators to build a secure custody framework for gold bars, and we are broadly exploring collaboration with bullion dealers and precious-metals businesses willing to participate in transactions. We welcome inquiries from companies interested in collaboration.
Furthermore, the AURAM movable-asset digital ledger can be applied not only to gold and precious metals but to any movable asset uniquely identifiable by a serial number or the like — such as luxury watches, brand-name bags, and fine wines and spirits — for recording and transferring ownership and collateral, and for visualizing provenance. By recording the ownership-transfer history of real-world assets in a tamper-resistant form on a blockchain, we aim to clarify rights relationships and to build a highly trustworthy distribution infrastructure that prevents items of unclear provenance (including goods illicitly circulated through theft or fraud) from entering the market.
About AURAM Inc.
Corporate philosophy: "Turning idle real assets into credit."
Real-world assets such as gold hold their value over time. Yet most of them are simply held, their latent value left untapped. Without moving the securely stored physical asset, AURAM records its ownership and collateral status on a tamper-proof digital ledger; while rigorously protecting each holder's privacy, we build a foundation of trust in which only authorized third parties, such as financial institutions, can verify the authenticity of ownership and collateral when needed. In this way, we transform idle real assets into "credit" — assets that can be used as collateral without being sold — offering businesses a hedge against inflation and currency volatility together with liquidity, and offering individuals steady asset building.
| Company name | AURAM Inc. (株式会社アウラム) |
|---|---|
| Head office | Nihonbashi Royal Plaza 706, 17-1 Nihonbashi Kabutocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0026, Japan |
| Representative | Kazuhiro Fukuda, Representative Director |
| Founded | February 25, 2026 |
| Capital | 5,000,000 JPY |
| Business | Operation of a real-world-asset trading platform; a blockchain-based service for recording the ownership and collateral of movable assets (movable-asset digital ledger); operation of asset-management media |
| URL | https://www.auram.co.jp/en/ |
Contact
For questions about this release, or to discuss collaboration and partnerships, please contact:
AURAM Inc. — Public Relations
Email: info@auram.co.jp
You may also reach us via our contact form.