WGC proposes physically-backed common infrastructure to scale digital gold

The World Gold Council (WGC) has proposed a “Gold as a Service” initiative — a physically‑backed, shared infrastructure to enable interoperable digital gold products. Presented in a white paper (Apr 26, 2026), the plan would provide accredited, regularly inspected physical gold custody and common standards for redemption and governance, addressing fragmentation across existing tokenised gold offerings and ETF wrappers. If adopted, the infrastructure could boost fungibility, liquidity and investor confidence in digital gold, accelerate retail demand for fractional and real‑time settlement products, and support further ETF and tokenisation flows — effectively integrating gold more deeply into digital financial markets. WGC said it will consult regulators and market participants globally before implementation.