World Gold Council values digital gold market at US$45–55bn and sees larger latent demand

The World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group published research on 19 October 2026 valuing the digital gold market at US$45–55bn today. The report, released at Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas, estimates up to US$700bn of latent demand.

What the report measures

The World Gold Council says the US$700bn figure is its estimate of total latent demand that could be released if today’s barriers to adoption were removed, not a near-term forecast. Its five-year base case has digital gold growing by around 27% a year to US$160–170bn by 2031, or US$270–280bn if barriers fall faster.

Digital gold covers vaulted digital gold and tokenised gold. The report says tokenised gold has grown fivefold in value since late 2024 to around US$6bn, and that cumulative spot trading volumes in tokenised gold exceeded US$90bn in the first quarter of 2026, more than in the whole of 2025.

What holds investors back

The research names four barriers: trust, access, utility and cost, with trust the deciding factor. Investors surveyed pointed to stronger consumer protections, transparent proof of backing, accessible redemption and clearer regulation as the changes most likely to raise confidence. Nearly nine in ten said they would consider digital gold under the right conditions.

Access also matters. Where digital gold is sold through familiar channels such as super-apps, payment platforms and banking apps, as in China, India and Indonesia, the share of investors holding it is up to seven times higher than in less mature markets.

New buyers

The report finds that around 65% of latent demand sits with people who do not yet own gold. Among current digital gold investors, 52% held no gold before their first digital purchase, and 92% of those have since bought other forms of gold. Awareness reaches 50% among 25–34-year-olds, against 23% among those aged 55 and over.

David Tait, the World Gold Council’s chief executive, said the council’s Gold as a Service infrastructure, still in development, aims to help issuers bring compliant digital gold products to market, and that the wider industry needs to work to the same standards.

What it means for traders

For brokers and platforms considering tokenised or vaulted gold products, the report’s findings put proof of backing and redemption at the centre of what investors ask for. For background on the metal itself, see our guide to what moves gold prices.