GILD Community Corner: Record Growth in the First Half of 2026!

The Goldback community continues to grow in new and exciting ways! We are seeing incredible momentum as the network expands across the country, driven by the hard work of the Goldback team and our GILD members. Here is a quick look at the milestones and community highlights from the first half of 2026.

The Merchant Network

As the merchant network grows, we’re developing local partnerships that help build thriving local Goldback ecosystems in your communities. Here are the stats for the first half of 2026:

• New Merchants: 1910 new merchants joined the network, bringing our grand total of 5,491. To put that into perspective, in all of 2025 we welcomed a record number of new merchants at 1,679. We have already shattered that record in only 6 months, and we are well on our way to doubling the total network in a single year. 
• State Milestones: There are now 14 states with over 100 merchants, and 7 with over 200 merchants. Our top 3 states are Utah with 848, Florida with 692 and Oklahoma with 333.  

The GILD Network

GILD members do so much more than just ask friends and businesses to accept Goldbacks as a form of payment.  They educate, hold local meetings, shop with Goldbacks, gift them to others, and hold special events! 

Over the first part of 2026, we have seen some incredible community projects:

• Arizona: High school art students from Queen Creek created a Goldback-inspired art exhibit, while other community members organized Goldback treasure hunts in the desert.
• California: Tabletop gaming communities started incorporating Goldbacks into their storylines and games, with the help of Maveric Studios on the UCSD campus. 
• Idaho: The Farm Bureau of Idaho has had Goldback presentations at their chapter meetings. 
• Nationwide: Presentations at local coin clubs, prospector clubs, city council meetings, and other community events have occurred in California, Montana, Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, New York, and many other states!
• Global: We even have international GILD members promoting Goldbacks in their own countries.

More and more people are becoming part of the Goldback movement, with over 1,000 GILD members actively working to build local Goldback ecosystems. The prospect of bringing a dedicated Goldback series to new states has generated a lot of excitement around building up local merchant networks. People know that the more businesses they sign up to accept Goldbacks the higher the likelihood is for their state to get their own Goldback series.

The Limited Early Release Program

The Limited Early Release (LER) program has created great incentives for individuals to recruit new businesses to join the sound money movement, with the Goldback as the cornerstone. We have already had multiple individuals and businesses submit more than 50 business referrals! We are committed to recognizing the people who help us grow, offering LER rewards valued from $125 to $300 depending on the state.

If you haven’t taken advantage of the LER program yet, it is never too late to start. Recruit a new business to accept Goldbacks, make sure they list you as the referral source, and claim your reward. Keep sharing your stories and pictures of using Goldbacks. We are changing the way money is spent, one Goldback Merchant at a time!