World Gold Council Unveils “Gold‑as‑a‑Service” Platform to Standardise Tokenised Gold
London, 20 March 2026 – The World Gold Council (WGC), the leading trade association for the global gold industry, announced on Thursday a collaborative effort with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to create an open‑source infrastructure for digital gold. The initiative, detailed in a newly released white paper titled “Gold as a Service,” aims to link physical gold custody with the blockchain‑based systems that issue and manage tokenised versions of the metal.
Why a shared infrastructure matters
Current tokenised gold products such as Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) operate on bespoke custody, compliance and redemption frameworks. While these offerings have attracted both retail and institutional interest, the fragmented landscape creates operational friction and raises questions about interoperability across platforms.
The WGC‑BCG proposal seeks to address these pain points by establishing a set of common standards for:
- Custody coordination and reconciliation – ensuring that the physical metal backing a token is tracked and verified in real time.
- Compliance and redemption processes – providing a uniform approach to regulatory checks and the conversion of digital tokens back into physical gold.
- Auditability and assurance – embedding routine third‑party audits into the token lifecycle to bolster confidence among institutional investors.
- Liquidity and fungibility – enabling tokenised gold to move freely across lending, borrowing and trading venues, mirroring the liquidity of the underlying commodity.
“Gold has been a cornerstone of finance for millennia, but the ecosystem is undergoing a rapid digital transformation,” said David Tait, CEO of the World Gold Council. “A shared, standards‑based layer can make the metal more accessible, tradable, and seamlessly integrated into modern financial infrastructure.”
Market context
Tokenised commodities now represent roughly 20 % of the total on‑chain value of real‑world assets (RWAs), according to data from RWA.xyz. The sector has expanded by more than three‑fold in the past year, with gold alone accounting for an estimated US$5.5 billion of that market.
- Tether Gold’s market cap stands at approximately US$2.6 billion, a 17 % increase year‑on‑year.
- Paxos Gold trails closely with a market cap around US$2.3 billion.
These figures illustrate the growing appetite for digital exposure to the metal, a trend reinforced by recent product launches such as Bybit’s interest‑bearing token that allows holders to earn yield on XAUT holdings.
Analyst perspective
Matthias Tauber, managing director at BCG, emphasized that the question is no longer if gold will become digital, but how it can do so without compromising the integrity of the physical asset. “A common infrastructure reduces the risk of siloed solutions and opens the door for broader institutional participation,” he noted.
Industry observers see the WGC’s move as a potential catalyst for wider adoption of tokenised gold within regulated markets. By providing a transparent, auditable link between blockchain tokens and locked‑away bullion, the platform could satisfy the due‑diligence requirements of banks, asset managers and custodians that have so far been cautious about crypto‑native gold products.
Key takeaways
| Takeaway | Implication |
|---|---|
| Standardisation – The “Gold as a Service” model introduces industry‑wide protocols for custody, compliance and redemption. | Lowers operational costs and simplifies onboarding for firms new to tokenised gold. |
| Interoperability – Tokens built on the platform can move across existing financial rails and DeFi protocols. | Enhances liquidity, making gold a more versatile collateral asset. |
| Auditability – Continuous third‑party verification ties digital tokens directly to physical reserves. | Increases trust among institutional investors and regulators. |
| Market growth – Tokenised gold already accounts for a sizable share of on‑chain RWAs and is expanding rapidly. | A unified framework could accelerate that growth, drawing more capital into crypto‑linked gold products. |
| Institutional appeal – WGC’s authority and the involvement of a major consultancy lend credibility. | May encourage banks and asset managers to adopt or develop compliant tokenised gold solutions. |
Outlook
If the WGC’s platform gains traction, it could serve as a blueprint for tokenising other precious metals and commodities, further bridging the gap between traditional finance and the blockchain ecosystem. The next steps will involve pilot implementations, engagement with regulatory bodies, and potential partnerships with existing token providers to adopt the new standards.
For now, the announcement signals a clear intent from the gold industry to modernise its offering and to position tokenised gold as a mainstream, regulated asset class in the evolving digital financial
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/world-gold-council-framework-tokenized-gold?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
