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The world is going through a transformation in terms of expectations for how businesses and entire industries should operate. Today’s investors and consumers demand transparency and integrity. They want to know products have been responsibly sourced and produced. The gold market is no exception and is impacted by these changes. 

Gold247 is the World Gold Council’s vision for transforming the global gold market to meet the challenges of today’s consumers and investors. The way gold is currently traded and the way the supply chain is managed, needs to evolve to ensure the gold market continues to meet the expectations of end-users, the financial services community, and regulators. 

Gold247 transformation is focused on three pillars of work: integrity, accessibility and fungibility. These three pillars are underpinned by the digitalisation of gold and the digital transformation of the gold market’s infrastructure. This initiative aims to enhance trust in gold, and as a consequence, unlock substantial demand. 

Gold247 Initiatives

Gold247 encompasses three pillars and corresponding initiatives focused on:

Integrity: 

The essential foundation for gold market reform is supply chain integrity. That is why the World Gold Council has partnered with the LBMA to develop and implement an international system of gold bar integrity.  Using distributed ledger (blockchain) technology, the aim is to expand the trusted, closed-loop ecosystem which currently exists for the 400oz gold bar market to also incorporate smaller bars, including kilo bars. Over time, this will help consumers, investors and market participants to have further confidence that their gold is authentic and has been responsibly produced and sourced.

The World Gold Council and LBMA have brought together representatives from the global gold supply chain to pilot using distributed ledger blockchain technology by implementing a secure, confidential, digital supply chain solution for the gold industry. 

Tracking gold bars throughout the supply chain will ensure responsible gold sourcing and product integrity which will  improve trust in the asset class. The Gold Bar Integrity Programme is the critical foundation needed for further market reform and digitalisation.

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Investing in market reform

The World Gold Council has made a strategic investment in aXedras, an independent Swiss IT solution provider that  provides a secure digital supply chain solution to the precious metals sector and is participating in the Gold Bar Integrity Programme pilot.

The World Gold Council made this investment, in the interests of the industry, because we know that appropriate funding is required for market reform and for the Gold Bar Integrity programme, to have the time and runway it needs to be successful. World Gold Council CEO, David Tait, is a member of aXedras’s Board of Directors.

Accessibility:

In order to remain relevant, the gold market must undergo a digital transformation, allowing transparent and effortless 24/7 retail and wholesale transactions. This means removing artificial barriers to participation and establishing modern market infrastructure. The digitalisation and tokenisation of the market is essential to modernise the gold market and make it more accessible to investors now and in the future.

Fungibility:

The current structure of the global market is fragmented and prevents gold from being an easily tradeable financial asset. In order for gold to be fully fungible, the industry must work together to establish a global standard to which all participants can adhere. An agnostic, freely exchangeable token representing this standard will de-fragment the market. Tokenisation increases transparency and ease of access which will in turn, promote demand. 

The World Gold Council is a Partner Member of the Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB) and our CEO, David Tait, chairs the Precious Metals Working Group. In this forum, market practitioners from across the FMSB membership and key stakeholders come together to address industry challenges and develop innovative solutions. This includes looking at ways to modernise the precious metals market, further instil trust and accessibility, and through these developments, increase the level of participation in the market. 

The FMSB has published two ‘Spotlight Reviews’ on the Precious Metals Market Structure and the Precious Metals Market Post-Trade.