World Gold Council sees USD $700 billion digital gold demand

The World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group have published research estimating up to USD $700 billion in latent demand for digital gold. It values the current market at USD $45 billion to USD $55 billion.

The report says that demand could emerge if the industry addresses barriers around trust, access, utility and cost. It outlines a base case in which the market grows to USD $160 billion to USD $170 billion by 2031, and a higher scenario of USD $270 billion to USD $280 billion if those barriers are removed more quickly.

The findings are based on a survey of more than 12,000 retail investors and interviews with 20 industry experts globally. Nearly nine in 10 surveyed investors said they would consider digital gold under the right conditions.

Digital gold remains a small part of the wider gold market, but the study argues that unmet retail demand is substantial. The USD $700 billion figure estimates demand that could be unlocked if current adoption barriers were removed, rather than serving as a near-term market forecast.

Market growth

One market segment, tokenised gold, has expanded rapidly. The report says its value has grown fivefold since late 2024 to about USD $6 billion, while cumulative spot trading volumes passed USD $90 billion in the first quarter of 2026, exceeding the total for all of 2025.

The research links that momentum to a broader shift in financial markets towards digital and tokenised products. It also suggests digital gold could attract new buyers to the gold market rather than simply shift demand from existing products.

Around 65% of the latent demand identified in the study comes from people who do not currently own gold. Among existing digital gold investors, 52% held no gold before making their first digital purchase, and 92% of that group later bought other forms of gold.

Under the study's base case, that would translate into about USD $95 billion of new demand for gold by 2031, even after allowing for some movement between products. That finding is likely to interest gold producers and markets such as Australia, where gold remains one of the country's biggest resource exports.

Barriers remain

Trust is identified as the main factor holding back wider adoption. Survey respondents pointed to stronger consumer protections, transparent proof of backing, accessible redemption options and clearer regulation as the steps most likely to improve confidence in digital gold.

Access is another important issue. In markets such as China, India and Indonesia, where digital gold is available through familiar consumer channels including banking apps, payment platforms and super-apps, investor ownership is up to seven times higher than in less developed markets.

Younger investors appear to be driving awareness. The report says awareness of digital gold reaches 50% among people aged 25 to 34, compared with 23% among those aged 55 and over.

The World Gold Council also used the report to highlight the role of shared market infrastructure. David Tait, Chief Executive Officer of the World Gold Council, said the market would need both operational systems and common standards to expand more widely.

"Significant investor interest in digital gold is clear, but demand cannot scale without the right infrastructure behind it. That is the role Gold as a Service is designed to play. As shared infrastructure in development, it aims to help issuers bring competitive, compliant digital gold products to market more efficiently, supported by the sourcing, custody and compliance capabilities they would otherwise need to build themselves. But infrastructure alone is not enough. Building a liquid, trusted market will require the wider industry to work to the same standards, so investors can have confidence in what they are buying," said David Tait, Chief Executive Officer of the World Gold Council.

Boston Consulting Group said gold's physical nature could support confidence in digital versions of the asset, provided the market structure around issuance and backing develops credibly.

"We undertook this project with the belief that gold has the potential to become the world's most credible digital asset - not despite its physical nature, but because of it. Our research has reinforced our confidence in the scale of this opportunity and provided a clearer understanding of what it will take to realise its full potential," said Urs Rahne, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group.