World Gold Council Launch ‘Gold as a Service’ to Boost Gold

• The World Gold Council unveils “Gold as a Service” to standardize and scale digital gold infrastructure globally.
• The new platform aims to boost liquidity, interoperability, and trust in tokenized gold products.
• Initiative could expand gold’s role beyond store of value into collateral and active financial use cases.

The World Gold Council (WGC) has launched a new initiative to modernize how gold works in today’s financial system, marking a step forward for digital gold.

In collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), it released a white paper proposing shared infrastructure to support scalable, interoperable digital gold products.

New Model: “Gold as a Service”

At the center of the proposal is a concept dubbed “Gold as a Service” (GaaS). It is an open platform that connects physical gold custody with digital issuance systems.

The model seeks to standardize critical processes, including custody coordination, reconciliation, compliance, and redemption. By doing so, it aims to simplify the creation and management of digital gold products while improving consistency across platforms.

This shared infrastructure could enable digital gold to function more like a unified financial asset, rather than fragmented products with varying standards.

Tackling Digital Gold’s Structural Challenges

Despite increasing digitization, ranging from electronic trading to the rise of tokenized gold, adoption has remained limited. According to the report, key barriers include:

• Lack of standardization across platforms
• Limited fungibility between digital gold products
• Operational complexity in issuance and management

These challenges have prevented digital gold from fully integrating into modern financial ecosystems, particularly when compared to more fluid digital assets.

Key Features of the Proposed Infrastructure

The WGC’s framework outlines several core capabilities to unlock broader adoption:

• Simpler issuance and management: A shared system would make it easier to create and manage digital gold products.
• Better liquidity: Digital gold could trade more easily across platforms as a consistent asset.
• Stronger trust: Built-in audits and proof of reserves would improve transparency and confidence.
• Interoperability: The system would connect smoothly with existing financial networks and new digital platforms.
• More use cases: With better liquidity and trust, gold could be used for lending, borrowing, and other financial activities.

Bridging Traditional and Digital Finance

WGC CEO David Tait said gold needs to evolve with financial digitization to remain relevant while maintaining its physical backing.

BCG’s Matthias Tauber noted that the question is no longer if gold will go digital, but how it can fit into modern financial systems without losing its core value.

The WGC is inviting financial institutions and fintech firms to help build this system. If successful, it could make digital gold more accessible and useful, bringing it closer to competing with blockchain-based assets.