What is digital gold... and how is the world investing billions in it?

Purchasing shares of metal stored with specialized entities through applications, without the need for physical possession, is now possible.

Digital gold is expanding its presence in global investment markets, with its value projected to rise to between $160 billion and $170 billion by 2031, up from the current $45 billion to $55 billion, according to a report prepared by the Boston Consulting Group at the request of the World Gold Council.

Digital gold allows investors to buy shares of metal stored with specialized entities via applications or digital tokens, without requiring physical possession. Stored gold accounts for 89% of the market, while tokenized gold represents 11%. The overall market constitutes approximately 0.4% of the $13 trillion physical investment gold market.

Cumulative spot trading of tokenized gold reached $90.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the $84.6 billion recorded for all of 2025, according to CoinGecko, while the market value of gold exchange-traded funds stands at around $600 billion.

A survey of more than 12,000 investors across 12 countries revealed that nearly 90% are willing to invest in digital gold under suitable conditions. Notably, 65% of the new demand comes from investors who have never previously purchased gold.

More than half of the stored gold market is concentrated in China, India, and Indonesia, where over 120 million customers in India and 5 million in Indonesia are using digital gold.

Despite growth opportunities, trust, custody, and regulation remain the primary challenges, with 44% of investors citing security breaches as a major threat.

The report forecasts annual market growth of 27% under the base case scenario, with additional demand worth $95 billion by 2031. Under an optimistic scenario, the potential market value could reach between $270 billion and $280 billion, while a pessimistic scenario projects a value of $70 billion to $80 billion.