World Gold Council Proposes Shared Infrastructure for Digital Gold
The World Gold Council (WGC), in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has released a white paper titled Digital Gold: The Case for a Shared Infrastructure, introducing the concept of “Gold as a Service.” This proposed platform aims to support the issuance and management of scalable, interoperable digital gold products.
Envisioned as an open framework, Gold as a Service seeks to bridge the gap between the physical custody of gold and the digital systems used to manage gold-backed assets. By standardising core processes such as custody coordination, reconciliation, compliance, and redemption, the model intends to streamline operations, enhance accessibility, and bring greater consistency to the digital gold ecosystem.
While gold markets have already embraced digitalisation in areas like trading, clearing, and recordkeeping—and have seen the emergence of tokenised products—growth in digital gold remains constrained. Challenges such as limited standardisation, operational complexity, and restricted fungibility continue to hinder its seamless integration into modern financial systems.
The proposed platform addresses these structural barriers by modernising gold’s role within an increasingly digital financial landscape, while preserving its inherent physical attributes that underpin long-term trust and value.
Key features of the initiative include simplified product issuance and management through standardised infrastructure, improved ease of trading by enhancing fungibility, and built-in mechanisms for trust such as continuous reconciliation and audit processes. The platform is also designed for interoperability, enabling smoother integration with existing financial systems and emerging digital networks, while unlocking broader utility—such as using gold as collateral for lending.
David Tait, CEO of the World Gold Council, emphasised that as financial services rapidly evolve digitally, gold must adapt to maintain its relevance. He noted that this initiative is part of WGC’s broader effort to enhance transparency, trust, and efficiency, making gold more accessible and seamlessly integrated into modern markets.
Matthias Tauber, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, highlighted that the focus is no longer on whether gold will become digital, but how it can do so without compromising its physical integrity. He added that the collaboration aims to establish trusted infrastructure capable of supporting digital gold at scale.
The World Gold Council is now inviting industry participants and innovators to collaborate in shaping and advancing this shared infrastructure, signalling a collective move towards the next phase of digital gold evolution.