Digitalisation is transforming the world’s oldest asset

Traditionally, gold has been seen as a safe-haven asset but nota source of regular income. Digitalisation could change that, a recent paper from the World Gold Council (WGC) shows.

- Somshankar Bandyopadhyay

The WGC, in collaboration with futures consultancy The Future Laboratory, recently released a report titled A New Golden Age, exploring how digitalisation could redefine gold’s role in global finance and culture.

At the heart of this transformation is the WGC’s belief that “digitalisation of the gold industry is critical to ensuring that gold continues to be a timeless and trusted asset now and in the future,” as stated by David Tait, CEO of the World Gold Council. The report outlines a future where gold is not just a physical commodity but a dynamic digital asset, accessible, traceable, and yield-bearing.

The WGC’s Gold247 programme is already laying the groundwork for this future. Its Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative creates an international database of gold bar custody and provenance, ensuring that gold is mined, refined, and traded within a “trusted ecosystem.” This is complemented by the Wholesale Digital Gold framework, which aims to establish a legally robust and technologically neutral system for gold ownership and settlement.