Markets · · 2 min read
Editor: Bohdan S.
Digital gold market reaches up to $55bn as younger investors join in
App-based and tokenized gold has grown fast, and the World Gold Council thinks it could more than triple by 2031 if providers can win investors' trust.
The short answer
The market for digital gold, meaning bullion owned through apps, online accounts or tokens, is worth $45 billion to $55 billion, a World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group report said. The Financial Times (FT) reported the market has tripled. Younger investors lead adoption, and the report sees room for steep further growth.
What happened
A report from the World Gold Council (WGC) and Boston Consulting Group, published on Monday, values the digital gold market at $45 billion to $55 billion. The Financial Times (FT) reported that the market has tripled to as much as $55 billion as younger savers pile in, and that a WGC survey puts global tokenized gold holdings at 370 tonnes. The report found half of people aged 25 to 34 know about digital gold, against 23% of those 55 and older. Tokenized gold alone has grown fivefold since late 2024 to around $6 billion, and its trading volume topped $90 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
What it means
Digital gold lets people own physical bullion without storing a bar at home. A custodian keeps the metal in a vault, and the investor holds a claim through an online account or a token on a blockchain. The report splits the market into vaulted digital gold and tokenized gold. Tokenized gold trading in the first three months of 2026 already exceeded the whole of 2025.
Distribution helps explain where the growth is happening. In China, India and Indonesia, digital gold is sold through super-apps, payment platforms and banking apps that people already use. There, the share of investors holding it is up to seven times higher than in less mature markets, according to the report.
The report's base case has the market growing about 27% a year to $160 billion to $170 billion by 2031, and up to $280 billion if barriers fall faster. It estimates about $95 billion of that would be genuinely new demand for gold. That matters for the wider bullion market: 52% of today's digital gold buyers owned no gold before, and most of them have since bought other forms too.
The authors stress that this growth depends on fixing what holds investors back. They name trust, access, usefulness and cost as the four main barriers, with trust the deciding one. Investors say they want stronger consumer protection, proof that tokens are fully backed, easy redemption into metal and clearer rules.
The bull case
A new, younger group of buyers is discovering gold through apps they already use, which could widen demand for bullion rather than just shift it between products. The report's base case points to roughly $95 billion of new gold demand by 2031. Tokenized gold's fast-rising trading volume suggests real use, and shared infrastructure the WGC is building could lower costs for issuers and make products easier to trust.
The bear case
Digital gold is only as good as the custodian and issuer behind it, and the report itself names trust as the biggest barrier. The headline $700 billion figure is latent demand, not a forecast. Rules differ by country, fees can eat into returns and some token products may be hard to redeem for metal. Growth projections to 2031 depend on barriers falling, which may not happen.
Why it matters
For investors
Gold-backed funds and tokenized gold products could see wider demand if digital access keeps growing, and payment apps and exchanges offering gold may benefit. Gold prices themselves are driven by far bigger forces, so the direct effect is likely modest.
The wider context
Buying small amounts of gold through an app is becoming easier, especially for younger savers. Anyone considering it may want to understand who holds the metal, what the fees are and how to turn a token back into cash or bullion.
Market impact
| Asset (ticker) | Possible move | Timeframe | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paxos Gold (PAXG) | ↑ Up | Long term | Tokenized gold demand has grown fivefold since late 2024, according to the report. |
| SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) | ↔ Unclear | Long term | Digital gold widens access to bullion but is small next to the overall gold market. |
The FinPrism newsroom's view of how these figures could move, as of . It is general news commentary, not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is digital gold?
Digital gold is physical gold owned through an online account, app or blockchain token, while a custodian stores the metal in a vault. It lets people buy small amounts without handling bars or coins. The World Gold Council values the market at $45 billion to $55 billion.
How big could the digital gold market get?
A World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group report sees the market growing about 27% a year to $160 billion to $170 billion by 2031 in its base case, and up to $280 billion if adoption barriers fall faster. Those are estimates, and they depend on barriers such as trust and cost being overcome.
What are the risks of tokenized gold?
The main risk is trust: whether the issuer really holds the gold and whether you can redeem it. The World Gold Council report says investors want stronger consumer protection, proof of backing, accessible redemption and clearer regulation. Costs and limited usefulness are other barriers it identifies.
Sources: World Gold Council, Financial Times
How this was made: written with AI assistance from the sources listed above, following our editorial standards.
