World Gold Council develops shared infrastructure to back $5 billion tokenized gold industry

World Gold Council Unveils Plans for Digital Gold Infrastructure

The World Gold Council (WGC) has revealed a major initiative to transform gold's role within the rapidly evolving digital financial landscape. The organization is set to develop a unified infrastructure designed to propel the next wave of digital gold adoption.

Even amid recent market fluctuations, gold has remained a standout performer. Interest in tokenized gold has soared, with industry figures indicating a 177% surge in market capitalization in 2025, rising from approximately $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion over the past year.

However, despite this impressive expansion, the sector still grapples with significant structural hurdles. Decentralized platforms, in particular, face difficulties merging technological advancements with the tangible nature of gold. The WGC’s latest project aims to tackle these ongoing challenges in an industry marked by complexity and fragmentation.

On Thursday, the WGC, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, released a white paper titled Digital Gold: The Case for a Shared Infrastructure. The document introduces a “Gold as a Service” concept—an open framework intended to link physical gold storage with digital systems for issuing and managing gold-backed assets.

This proposal seeks to bring consistency to critical processes such as custody management, reconciliation, regulatory compliance, and asset redemption. These areas have historically limited the scalability and interoperability of digital gold products.

Mike Oswin, the WGC’s Global Head of Market Structure and Innovation, highlighted in an interview that while digital gold has advanced rapidly, the supporting infrastructure has lagged behind. “Currently, each provider is independently reconstructing complex systems, resulting in inefficiencies and stunted growth,” he observed.

Oswin further noted that although many developers are swiftly launching digital gold platforms, a significant number struggle due to the intricate nature of the physical gold market.

He explained, “The main obstacles stem from the need to coordinate multiple agreements—ensuring adequate liquidity, securing reliable custodianship in vaults, obtaining insurance, and establishing robust legal structures. These elements are essential to guarantee investors have legitimate ownership of the physical gold.”

While tokenization has broadened access to gold, Oswin pointed out that the absence of standardized practices has hindered seamless integration with contemporary financial systems.

“Gold is fundamentally a physical commodity, which brings unique complexities when digitizing it,” he said. “Absolute certainty in custody, ownership, and redemption is vital. Without a shared infrastructure, delivering these assurances consistently across platforms is challenging.”

The “Gold as a Service” model aims to unite industry participants to establish a common foundation for digital gold issuance. By embedding ongoing reconciliation, transparent auditing, and standardized legal protocols, the platform is designed to foster trust and enhance the interchangeability of digital gold products.

According to Oswin, a key benefit of this initiative is the potential to transform gold from a passive store of value into a more versatile financial instrument.

“Standardizing digital gold issuance and transfers could unlock a wide range of new applications,” he stated. “Gold could serve as active capital—used as collateral, integrated into lending markets, or transferred effortlessly between financial platforms.”

This move is part of a broader industry effort to ensure gold maintains its relevance as financial markets undergo rapid digitalization.

“As financial systems evolve, gold must adapt as well,” Oswin concluded. “Our goal isn’t to change gold’s fundamental nature, but to ensure its trusted, liquid, and stable qualities are preserved in the digital era.”

The WGC is now inviting market players, technology providers, and financial institutions to join forces in building this shared infrastructure, emphasizing that the future growth of digital gold will rely on collaboration as much as on technological progress.