UK Regulators Eye Exemption for Tokenized Gold Amid Global Bullion Trade Shift

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to exempt tokenized gold from fund rules, aiming to preserve London's dominance in the global bullion trade. The move would treat digital representations of gold differently from traditional investment vehicles.

Tokenized gold allows investors to hold digital claims on physical bullion stored by an issuer or custodian. This feature has drawn interest from institutions looking to use gold more efficiently in wholesale markets.

The FCA is working alongside the Treasury and the Bank of England, which has separate plans to consider whether tokenized assets, including stablecoins, should qualify as collateral under its Sterling Monetary Framework.