Now Reading: Digital gold market may hit $170 billion by 2031, WGC projects
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Digital gold market may hit $170 billion by 2031, WGC projects
The Story in Brief
The global digital gold market could grow to $160 to 170 billion by 2031 from its current $45 to 55 billion, according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report cited by CNBC-TV18 and Upstox. The projection is based on a 27% annual growth rate, with Asia, including India, China and Indonesia, driving adoption. Digital gold currently accounts for only about 1% of the $28 to 29 trillion global gold stock.
In India, digital gold purchases rose 5% month-on-month to 1.7 tonnes in September 2026, valued at Rs 25.9 billion, as festive-season demand for Dhanteras and Diwali picked up, the WGC said. Gold prices have corrected around 20% from their peak of $5,600 an ounce to about $4,100 an ounce, attracting some buyers.
However, Upstox reported that SEBI warned in November 2025 that digital gold products carry counterparty and operational risks and are not covered by securities-market investor protections. The regulator noted that gold ETFs, electronic gold receipts and exchange-traded commodity derivatives are the regulated gold products. CNBC-TV18 did not mention the SEBI warning.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both outlets base their reports on the World Gold Council’s October 2026 projections for the digital gold market, but they lead with different material. CNBC-TV18 leads with the market size forecast and the broader shift to financialised gold, omitting any mention of regulatory risk. Upstox leads with the festive-season buying context and immediately flags SEBI’s November 2025 warning about counterparty and operational risks, as well as the absence of securities-market investor protections for digital gold. Upstox also adds a check-list of what buyers should examine before investing, a detail CNBC-TV18 does not carry. The two pieces therefore differ sharply in framing: CNBC-TV18 presents digital gold as an unqualified growth story, while Upstox treats it as a convenient but unregulated product whose safety depends entirely on the provider.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): cnbctv18.com (neutral report), upstox.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
