The World Gold Council published a white paper on a new platform called 'Gold as a Service' to connect physical gold custody with digital tokenized products.
The World Gold Council, a major gold trade association, and the Boston Consulting Group announced a new platform designed to link physical gold with digital financial systems. This initiative includes the release of a white paper titled 'Gold as a Service,' which outlines a standardized approach for issuing and managing tokenized gold products.
The platform aims to connect the physical custody of gold with the systems used for tokenization, reducing operational complexity. It standardizes key processes such as custody coordination, reconciliation, compliance, and redemption to improve access and consistency across digital gold products.
Key Features of the Framework
Key features include standardizing the issuance and management of tokenized gold, enhancing fungibility, embedding audits and assurance mechanisms, enabling interoperability with existing financial systems, and boosting liquidity in lending and borrowing markets.
World Gold Council CEO David Tait stated that financial services are undergoing digital transformation, and gold must adapt to remain relevant. He emphasized that shared infrastructure will make gold more accessible and integrated into modern systems.
Boston Consulting Group Managing Director Matthias Tauber noted that the focus is on how gold can participate in digital finance while maintaining physical integrity. Tokenized gold products like Tether Gold and Pax Gold have market capitalizations of $2.6 billion and $2.3 billion respectively, according to data from RWA.xyz.
RWA.xyz reports that tokenized commodities, including gold, represent about 20% of the $5.5 billion on-chain value of tokenized real-world assets, with the segment growing by 340% over the past 12 months. Recently, crypto exchange Bybit launched a yield-bearing tokenized gold product allowing users to earn interest on Tether Gold.
