If barriers persist, the market may reach only $70 billion-$80 billion.
Digital gold covers vaulted accounts and tokenized products that represent ownership of physically stored bullion.
The analysis estimates up to $700 billion in latent demand if all major obstacles disappeared immediately, but that figure is not a forecast. About 65% of the potential demand comes from people who do not currently own gold, and the base case identifies roughly $95 billion in genuinely new demand by 2031. Nearly nine in 10 surveyed retail investors said they would consider digital gold under the right conditions, yet ownership remains limited.
Trust is the central hurdle. Nearly four in five investors prioritize confidence in the provider, while stronger consumer protection, proof that holdings are backed by physical metal, accessible redemption and clearer regulation were identified as important conditions. Familiar distribution also matters: adoption is up to seven times higher where digital gold is offered through banking, payment or multipurpose apps. Awareness is 50% among people aged 25-34, compared with 23% among those aged 55 and older.
The World Gold Council is developing Gold as a Service, shared infrastructure intended to connect bullion custody with the digital systems used to issue and manage products. The proposed platform would standardize custody coordination, reconciliation, compliance and redemption, with the stated aim of making products easier to launch, verify and use across financial platforms. The analysis also identifies utility and pricing as barriers, with potential applications including payments, lending and using gold as collateral.