重大消息！“数字黄金”也要来了？英媒：世界黄金协会正计划推出“数字黄金”

Core Viewpoint - The World Gold Council is seeking to launch digital gold, which could revolutionize the $900 billion physical gold market in London [1][3]. Group 1: Digital Gold Initiative - The new digital unit called "Pool Gold Interests" (PGIs) will pilot in London with commercial participants in the first quarter of next year [3]. - Digital gold aims to expand market coverage despite many investors valuing gold for its physical characteristics and lack of counterparty risk [3][4]. - The digitalization of gold could allow it to be used as collateral and meet margin requirements, transforming it from a static asset on balance sheets [3][5]. Group 2: Market Structure and Participants - The London wholesale gold market is the largest physical trading center globally, supported by major banks like HSBC and JPMorgan [6]. - Currently, there are two types of trading in the London market: "allocated" gold trading involving specific bars and "unallocated" gold trading without specific bars [7]. - The proposal for PGIs will create a third trading type in the London over-the-counter gold market [7]. Group 3: Challenges and Competition - Despite rising gold prices, the asset faces competition from cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, which could surpass traditional gold investments [9]. - Efforts to create gold-backed stablecoins have largely failed, with the most successful ones managing around $1.3 billion in assets compared to $400 billion held in gold-backed ETFs [9]. - The adoption of blockchain initiatives in the gold market has been slow, but there is a positive reception among refiners, with 96% of good delivery list refiners participating [9].