WISeKey, Italpreziosi, and Kaufmann & Partners Announce the Launch of Precious Metalverse AG: a Unique Joint Venture to Market Gold and Precious Metals as Authenticated and Verified Trusted NFTs

WISeKey, Italpreziosi, and Kaufmann & Partners Announce the Launch of Precious Metalverse AG: a Unique Joint Venture to Market Gold and Precious Metals as Authenticated and Verified Trusted NFTs

Geneva, August 11, 2023 - WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (“WISeKey”) (SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), a global frontrunner in cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain, and IoT operating as a holding company, in collaboration with Italpreziosi, a prominent entity in precious metals production and trading, and Kaufmann & Partners, proudly unveil the signing of an Agreement for their joint venture, Precious Metalverse AG. This initiative is committed to introducing Trusted NFTs backed by gold and precious metals and will be made available for trading on the WISe.ART NFT Marketplace.

Key Highlights:

PreciousMetalVerse.com, the official entity of the joint venture, is established in Zug, Switzerland.

TrustedNFT Gold tokens symbolize the ownership of tangible gold bars secured in vaults located in Switzerland and Italy.

Italpreziosi, renowned for its high-quality services in the domain of gold and precious metal investments, provides tailored products like gold bars and coins, catering to individual investment needs.

The unique joint venture enables investors to safely invest in gold via NFTs without physically handling the products. Instead, they can be directly placed into the Italpreziosi insured deposit.

These gold products, integrated with an NFT-based digital identity and SEALSQ semiconductors, are ensured and stored under third-party custody, ensuring their complete detachment from Italpreziosi's assets.

The patented method for digital certification ensures each TrustedNFT Gold corresponds to a specific gold bar, both possessing a unique digital identity. Detailed information about the patent can be accessed at WISeKey's Patents.

The innovative Gold NFT model utilizes a smart contract enabling NFT trading for gold, thereby providing an avenue for investors to leverage price movements of both non-fungible tokens and gold.

The Trusted NFT Gold tokens, available on the WISe.ART NFT platform, are complemented with a digital certificate warranty and a thorough KYC process, ensuring the NFT owner's absolute legal rights over the physical gold bar. This technology revolutionizes gold trading, allowing for a completely decentralized transaction on the WISe.ART NFT platform.
Ivana Ciabatti, CEO at Italpreziosi Spa, shared, "In our pursuit of innovation, fintech, and sustainability, this Joint Venture marks the confluence of these values, amplified by our association with global leaders. We envision this collaboration meeting the surging market demand with unmatched product innovation and premium service quality."

Francesco De Leo Ph.D., Executive Chairman at Kaufmann & Partners, expressed, “Our investment strategy always leans towards visionaries driving disruptive innovations. With WISeKey and Italpreziosi, we're steering the fintech and De-Fi sector towards groundbreaking transformations. This partnership aims to shape a novel asset class for the next-gen investors, and the transition to Web 3.0 remains our key mission.”

Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey International Holding, commented, “This collaboration with Italpreziosi in the NFT gold market is unparalleled. WISeKey’s comprehensive cybersecurity service platform offers solutions from Root of Trust to Chip To NFT. I am optimistic about this endeavor, and I firmly believe we will continue to witness substantial technological advances and create substantial market value.”

The integration of Trusted NFTs on the WISe.ART platform with a clear link to physical assets, along with proof of ownership and provenance, sets a new industry standard. Furthermore, with the partnership with Green NFT, these NFTs ensure carbon neutrality, adhering to imminent ESG regulations and resonating with the global endeavor to safeguard the environment.

About Italpreziosi

Italpreziosi was founded in 1984 and is one of the main operators in the production, refining and trading of precious metals, production and trading of investment gold based in Arezzo, Italy. The company is certified Gold Good Delivery by the London Bullion Market Association since November 22, 2018, Code of Practice and Chain of Custody by the Responsible Jewellery Council, and is a certified Fairmined Supplier. Italpreziosi is also a member of the Responsible Mineral Initiative and the International Precious Metals Institute. Thanks to the latest generation technologies and systems with an impact close to zero, in addition to its central position in the value chain, Italpreziosi represents the strategic partner for all operators in the precious metals business, offering complete solutions for mines, banks, jewelery manufacturers, industrial and private consumers. With the commitment to guarantee the highest quality standards in compliance with the principles of ethics and sustainability. Italpreziosi is the ideal partner for all operators in the precious metals sector, excelling for its reputation, service efficiency, reliability, transparency, but above all for sustainability and ethical commitment. In line with the highest standards, Italpreziosi pursues the United Nations 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGS ), objectives it has set itself to contribute to the creation of a more sustainable, fair and equitable supply chain of precious metals. For more information, visit www.italpreziosi.it

About Kaufmann & Partners

Kaufmann & Partners is an investor and corporate advisory and investment firm providing strategic advice and investment insights with our team of Senior Partners, on international political, economic, technology, sustainability and security matters. Kaufmann & Partners advises leading investment firms, world-class family offices and innovative corporations through a diverse range of industries aiming at enabling them to navigate the unprecedented uncertainties stemming from today’s unstable political, business, technological and regulatory environment. Selectively, Kaufmann & Partners provides funding and its support to highly disruptive start-up companies in the Fin-Tech and Artificial Intelligence market space. Kaufmann & Partners Top Management Team and Advisors have built a world-class capability to address the low probability events shaping the world economy, that are the source of an unprecedented level of volatility across markets. The overarching goal of Kaufmann & Partners is to identify and measure non-financial risks as a major source of technology disruptions, unexpected fragilities, sustainability and geopolitical challenges by translating them into consistent and robust financial metrics and indicators. By leveraging big data analytics and semantic search, Kaufmann & Partners has built a state of the art capability to track down the key drivers of industry disruptions affecting how investors look at different asset classes, building indexes, rankings and ratings enabling our client base to preserve their assets value over time. For more information visit http://kaufmannpartners.com.

About WISeKey:
WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey", SIX: WIHN; Nasdaq: WKEY) is a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT solutions platform. It operates as a Swiss-based holding company through several operational subsidiaries, each dedicated to specific aspects of its technology portfolio. The subsidiaries include (i) SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, (ii) WISeKey SA which specializes in RoT and PKI solutions for secure authentication and identification in IoT, Blockchain, and AI, (iii) WISeSat AG which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, specifically for IoT applications, and (iv) WISe.ART Corp which focuses on trusted blockchain NFTs and operates the WISe.ART marketplace for secure NFT transactions.

Each subsidiary contributes to WISeKey's mission of securing the internet while focusing on their respective areas of research and expertise. Their technologies seamlessly integrate into the comprehensive WISeKey platform. WISeKey secures digital identity ecosystems for individuals and objects using Blockchain, AI, and IoT technologies. With over 1.6 billion microchips deployed across various IoT sectors, WISeKey plays a vital role in securing the Internet of Everything. The company's semiconductors generate valuable Big Data that, when analyzed with AI, enable predictive equipment failure prevention. Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey cryptographic Root of Trust, WISeKey provides secure authentication and identification for IoT, Blockchain, and AI applications. The WISeKey Root of Trust ensures the integrity of online transactions between objects and people. For more information on WISeKey's strategic direction and its subsidiary companies, please visit www.wisekey.com.

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This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.