Digital Gold Could Draw Up to $700 Billion in Latent Demand

Digital gold could draw up to $700 billion in additional latent demand if barriers involving trust, access, utility and cost disappeared, exposing the divide between investor interest and current holdings.

The $700 billion calculation assumes all four barriers vanish at once and investors respond fully at current population and wealth levels. It has no target date and does not represent committed capital. The market was valued at $45 billion to $55 billion as of Oct. 19.

Digital gold in this estimate includes tokens backed by physical metal and digital accounts holding gold in vaults. Vaulted accounts represent about 89% of the market, while tokens make up 11%. The definition excludes gold-backed stablecoins, exchange-traded funds backed by gold and leveraged products.

In the survey, almost nine in 10 investors expressed conditional interest in digital gold. The research covered more than 12,000 people in 12 markets, including the United States, and included interviews with 20 experts. Stated interest does not establish how many investors will make purchases.

Stronger evidence of physical backing would make digital gold more appealing to 33% of respondents. Another 35% pointed to clearer regulation and consumer protections. Trust, access, utility and cost were the broader obstacles identified.

“Significant investor interest in digital gold is clear, but demand cannot scale without the right infrastructure behind it,” World Gold Council CEO David Tait said.

If adoption barriers largely persist, the modeled total market reaches $70 billion to $80 billion by 2031. The base case puts it at $160 billion to $170 billion; faster progress in removing those barriers raises the range to $270 billion to $280 billion. Those ranges describe total market value, not new investment alone.

After accounting for money shifted from other gold products, the base case estimates about $95 billion in new demand for gold by 2031. That is distinct from the $700 billion theoretical ceiling, which assumes the barriers disappear immediately and has no target date.

Spot trades in gold tokens totaled $90.70 billion in Q1 2026, surpassing the $84.64 billion traded during all of 2025. Trading volume measures activity, not the value of gold held or the amount of new investment. The market scenarios assume no major security, fraud or custody failure and no material change in gold prices.