A new generation of gold investors

Much of the growth predicted in our base case would be new money for gold, rather than money moved around within the asset class. 

This is one of the most distinctive findings of our research. The bulk of latent demand lies with people who do not yet own gold, and specifically younger investors who are the keenest to buy digital gold products. Digital gold, in other words, is likely to grow the gold market rather than carve it up.

We see sharp differences across groups on the factors that limit investment, with redemption most important to gold investors and yield most important to digital asset investors (Exhibit 10).

That said, our research suggests that approximately 65% of new demand will come from first-time entrants to the gold market. 

EXHIBIT 10

Redemption matters most to gold investors, yield matters most to digital asset investors

Redemption matters most to gold investors, yield matters most to digital asset investors

Interest in digital gold among younger generations is not only apparent in levels of awareness. 

Both intention to buy and share of portfolio allocated to digital gold peak in the 25-34 age group, and under-45s collectively convert at roughly double the rate of those aged 55+ (Exhibit 11).

Given that willingness to invest, digital gold should be the avenue through which the broader gold market brings younger demographics (aged 35 and below) to the asset class. 

 

EXHIBIT 11

Younger cohorts are most likely to invest

Willingness to invest in digital gold (%)

Digital Gold 2026: Exhibit 11

Data as of

n = 12,365

Among those who convert their interest into investment, the more direct question is where the money will come from. While growth will likely emanate from a mixture of incremental demand and substitution for other forms of gold investment, the survey reveals that incremental demand will dominate. 

About 53% of current gold investors would use money from non-gold investments or money currently not invested at all for buying digital gold (Exhibit 12).

52% of current digital gold holders had no gold before buying digital gold

These findings are consistent with the views expressed by people already holding digital gold. We find that 52% of that group held no gold in any form before their first digital purchase, of which 92% went on to buy other forms of gold after they bought digital gold.

 

EXHIBIT 12

Most future purchases will be funded with new money, not existing gold holdings

Funding source for future digital gold purchases among current gold holders (%)

Digital Gold 2026: Exhibit 12

Data as of

n = 2,189, only current gold investors

This shows digital gold products often act as a gateway to the purchase of physical bullion. 

Jordan Eliseo General Manager, ABC BULLION

Some industry participants believe that tokenised gold will cannibalise other products, particularly gold-backed ETFs. Tokenised products enable 24/7 trading and offer additional use cases that give them a slight product edge. These are advantages that gold-backed ETFs cannot currently match, and early evidence suggests investors value them: in tokenised equity markets, more than half of trading occurs outside traditional market hours, pointing to real demand for round-the-clock access.1 However, gold-backed ETFs have gained market share by making gold easier to access within the existing, regulated financial system, and digital gold has yet to establish the same level of trust. The relative advantages of each product address different investor needs, helping to explain why cannibalisation is likely to be limited. That said, if digital gold can overcome the trust deficit, some cannibalisation is likely, although it would be small relative to the incremental demand it would unlock.

Vikram Dhawan Head of Commodities and Fund Manager, NIPPON INDIA

In practice, we believe the gold market is likely to grow in aggregate, while a small share moves between products. 

Net of displacement, the base case represents approximately $95 billion of genuinely new demand by 2031. This mirrors how gold-backed ETFs grew; by adding a compelling product that builds its own market over time.2

~$95B of genuinely new demand by 2031

Andrew Dickey Managing Director, THE ROYAL MINT

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Footnotes

  1. IMF Global Financial Stability Report: “Scaling Tokenization: New Efficiencies, New Vulnerabilities.”, October 2026.

  2. Note: We report gross and net figures separately throughout, since the difference between them is the difference between a new market and a redistributed one.

Important disclaimers and disclosures [+]Important disclaimers and disclosures [-]