World Gold Council moves to modernise gold trading as demand surges

With global gold demand at its highest level on record, the World Gold Council is considering ways to simplify access to physical gold, including pooled gold interests and wholesale digital gold. Chief financial officer Terry Heymann told Moneyweb on the sidelines of this year’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town that the initiatives are aimed at making gold trading more accessible to a wider range of investors. “One of the great things about gold is just how diverse the demand is and continues to be,” Heymann says.

The World Gold Council’s latestGold Demand Trends reportshows that global gold demand reached a new record in 2025. Total demand, including over-the-counter activity, rose to 5 002 tonnes – the highest annual level ever recorded – while the value of gold demand climbed to a record US$555 billion (R8.8 trillion). Investment was the most important driver, supported by strong inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as bar and coin buying, alongside continued central-bank purchases and resilient jewellery demand despite higher prices.

Heymann says that despite concerns that rising gold prices could dampen appetite for jewellery, consumers continue to put money into gold jewellery. Against this backdrop of sustained demand, the World Gold Council is looking closer at more ways to access physical gold. One such innovation is pooled gold interest, a concept aimed at institutional investors that would expand how large holders access physical gold. “Where traditional allocated gold is tied to discrete 400-ounce bars – each valued at roughly $1 million-plus (R15.9 million*) – pooled interest allows institutions to hold exactly the ounces they want without the bankruptcy risk associated with unallocated gold.” (Unallocated gold gives investors exposure to gold, with their holding linked to an institution rather than to specific bars of gold.) “Pool gold interest gives investors access to physical gold, but in a way that you can have exposure to however much gold you want … rather than be constrained about having to deal in units of 400 ounces at a time,” he explains.