World Gold Council study projects $700 billion digital gold market potential

A joint study by the World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) indicates that the digital gold market, currently valued between $45 billion and $55 billion, possesses a latent demand potential of up to $700 billion. This potential could be unlocked by removing existing market entry barriers.

In a base scenario, the market is expected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 27 percent over the next five years, potentially reaching a volume of $160 billion to $170 billion by 2031. If barriers are removed more rapidly, the market could reach between $270 billion and $280 billion in the same period.

Digital gold encompasses tokenized gold—small digital units on a blockchain—and vaulted digital gold, which allows users to own digitally stored gold via mobile applications. The study notes that the market value for tokenized gold has increased fivefold since late 2024, reaching approximately $6 billion. Cumulative spot trading volume for tokenized gold exceeded $90 billion in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the total volume recorded in 2025.

Key obstacles preventing widespread adoption include trust, access, usability, and costs. The study suggests that if fully realized, this market would be comparable in scale to the current physically-backed gold ETF market.