The World Gold Council (WGC) has unveiled its most visionary report yet, “A New Golden Age: Imagining the Future of Digital Gold”, created in collaboration with The Future Laboratory.
The study explores how gold could evolve into a trusted, tokenised, and technologically advanced digital asset, reshaping the future of global finance.

David Tait’s Vision for a Digital Gold Revolution

In his foreword, David Tait, CEO of the World Gold Council, highlights how digitalisation is key to ensuring gold’s enduring trust and relevance.
Through initiatives like Gold247, the WGC is building transparency, traceability, and accessibility for a new era of gold ownership.

“Our pioneering Gold247 programme aims to harness digital innovation to increase trust, transparency, and utility of gold, unlocking demand for the asset.”
— David Tait, CEO, World Gold Council

At the heart of Gold247 are three structural innovations: Gold Bar Integrity (GBI), Wholesale Digital Gold, and the Standard Gold Unit (SGU), each designed to modernise the $5 trillion global gold market.

The Standard Gold Unit (SGU): A Global Framework for Digital Gold

The Standard Gold Unit (SGU) is a patent-pending innovation that could redefine how gold is traded, valued, and exchanged. It separates the monetary value of gold from the physical bar, allowing gold to move seamlessly across global financial ecosystems.

Each SGU token represents a universal digital unit of exchange, enabling investors to trade, redeem, or collateralise their holdings anywhere in the world. If adopted widely, the SGU could become a benchmark for interoperability, transparency, and liquidity in the modern gold economy.

Three Future Scenarios for Digital Gold

The WGC and The Future Laboratory’s report outlines three transformative “what if…” territories, exploring how digitalisation could reshape gold’s role in finance, DeFi, and culture.

Territory 1: Pervasive Digital Gold

• Envisions a blockchain-based, frictionless gold ecosystem with instant settlement, collateralisation, and location swaps.
• Frictionless Gold: 24/7 global trading and atomic settlement.
• Gold-backed Independence: Allocated gold directly from vaults as a hedge against geopolitical volatility.
• Gold-based Monetary Systems: Yield-bearing, blockchain-backed gold payment systems like Kinesis Money.
• Philanthropic Gold: Blockchain transparency that ensures responsible mining and social impact.

“Digitalisation could transform gold into a fungible, highly liquid modern asset.” — World Gold Council Report, 2025

Territory 2: DeFi Gold Rush

Gold enters the Decentralised Finance (DeFi) landscape, creating opportunities for tokenised gold to earn regular yields through staking, lending, and liquidity provision.

• Tokenised Gold in DeFi: Enables borrowing, staking, and smart-contract yield models.
• Regulated On-Chain TradFi: Merges traditional finance with DeFi via legal frameworks.
• Tokenised Gold Funds: Democratises access by allowing fractional gold investments.
• Mature DeFi Gold: Conservative, yield-bearing gold assets offering 2–3% annual returns.

However, experts caution that yield-bearing gold introduces new risk profiles requiring careful regulation.

Territory 3: The Next Gold Frontier

The final territory explores how digital culture, phygital assets, and brand collaboration could embed gold in everyday digital life.

• Untethered Gold: Turning jewelry and collectibles into income-generating digital assets.
• The Digital Gold Index: Tracking investment value of designer gold objects and jewelry.
• Phygital Gold NFTs: Gold-backed NFTs with real-world benefits.
• Cultured Gold: Gold investment integrated into lifestyle platforms, apps, and brand ecosystems.

As digital-native Gen Z investors prepare for the $105 trillion Great Wealth Transfer, WGC sees “branded digital gold” as a way to modernise gold’s image and attract younger investors.

Key Drivers of Change

The report identifies several macro drivers accelerating digital gold adoption:

• Technological innovation: Blockchain, AI verification, and quantum-safe encryption.
• Demographic shifts: Tech-savvy younger investors demanding alternative assets.
• Sustainability: Gold’s near-100% recyclability and traceable supply chain.
• On-chain finance: Tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs) projected to hit $18.9 trillion by 2033.
• Economic instability: Reinforcing gold’s appeal as an independent, apolitical store of value.

Gold’s Digital Renaissance

The “A New Golden Age” report marks a pivotal step toward reimagining gold for a digital-first world.
From tokenisation and blockchain integrity to DeFi integration and cultural reinvention, the World Gold Council’s vision blends heritage and innovation.

If realised, the SGU ecosystem and digital gold framework could transform gold into a frictionless, yield-bearing, and universally trusted asset, a bridge between physical wealth and the digital economy.

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