Digital Gold Outshines Crypto: The Meteoric Rise of Tokenized Bullion

Forget Bitcoin—gold just went digital and it's eating crypto's lunch.

The Timeless Metal Gets a Tech Upgrade

Gold's slicing through cryptocurrency hype with blockchain-backed tokens. Physical bullion now trades on-chain—bypassing traditional exchanges and hitting record valuations. No more storage headaches or questionable stablecoins.

Institutional Money Flows In

Hedge funds pile into digitized precious metals while crypto volumes stagnate. Gold's inherent value proposition—honed over millennia—meets DeFi's efficiency. Suddenly, meme coins look downright primitive.

The Ultimate Safe Haven Play

When markets tank, investors still flee to gold—now they do it at crypto speed. Tokenized assets bridge ancient value with modern infrastructure. Meanwhile, crypto bros still argue about Satoshi's pizza.

Gold's digital revolution proves something brutal: sometimes the oldest solutions just need a tech stack upgrade to outshine the newest fads.

Elevate Your Investing Strategy:

• Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.

According to the Financial Times, trade association the World Gold Council is looking to launch a digital FORM of the precious metal.

Broaden Reach

This WOULD allow investors to trade, settle and collateralize bullion digitally around the gold ecosystem for the first time ever.

Much of the allure of gold is to own it as a physical asset, allowing investors to create a SAFE haven for their fortunes in times of economic and political volatility.

However, David Tait, chief executive of the World Gold Council, believes gold must take on a digital form in order to broaden its market reach.

Tait told the Financial Times: “We are trying to standardise that digital LAYER of gold, such that the various financial products used in other markets can be used in the gold market going forward.For the banks, from a collateral perspective, they will make a lot of money, as they get an opportunity to use the gold on their balance sheet as collateral.”

The new digital unit, dubbed ‘pooled gold interests’ (PGIs), would allow banks and investors to buy and sell partial ownership in physical gold held in separate accounts.

It will be trialed with commercial participants in London during the first financial quarter of 2026.

Crypto Rival

The MOVE is another step by the World Gold Council to challenge new rivals, including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, which are arguably more popular with younger investors.

Whether gold is held in the hand or in an app, it seems to be a good time to be invested in the metal.

The price of gold surged to an all-time high earlier this week driven forward by interest rate cut expectations, geopolitical fears and concerns over President Trump’s meddling in the economy.

Gold futures ROSE 1.1% to $3,554.90 per ounce, while the spot price rose to $3,508.70. It continues quite the run for the gold price this year.

The main driver behind the recent glittering rise, according to analysts, is a growing expectation that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates later this month. A low interest rate environment is typically a boon for gold as it makes investing in alternatives such as stocks and government bonds less attractive.

Geopolitical concerns over conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East and lingering worries over President Trump’s tariff policy are other factors likely to keep gold shining in the months ahead.

What are the Best Gold ETFs to Buy Now?

We have rounded up the best gold ETFs to buy now using our TipRanks comparison tool.