RBI explores tokenising gold amid push to expand Unified Markets Interface
The Reserve Bank of India is examining gold tokenisation as a possible new asset class for its Unified Markets Interface (UMI), a platform that settles tokenised financial instruments using central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The proposal was outlined by a senior RBI official at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, who said tokenisation could resolve existing structural challenges in how gold and similar assets are traded and held.
The UMI has already been tested with tokenised Certificate of Deposit (CD) transactions — around 248 trades worth roughly ₹17,000 crore, about two-thirds of them in the secondary market.
Beyond gold, the RBI is also studying tokenisation of bank deposits, commercial papers and corporate bonds, with the goal of covering an asset's full lifecycle — issuance, settlement and servicing — on one platform.
The central bank flagged risks that must be managed before wider rollout: legal uncertainty over token ownership, data privacy, liquidity fragmentation, interoperability across platforms, and the risk of excessive concentration in a few intermediaries.
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) — the e-Rupee
A CBDC is a digital form of a country's fiat currency, issued and backed directly by the central bank, distinct from private cryptocurrency because it carries sovereign guarantee. The RBI began piloting the e-Rupee under two tracks: the wholesale segment (e₹-W), for interbank and large-value settlement, launched on 1 November 2022 with its first use case in the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities; and the retail segment (e₹-R), for general public use, launched shortly after in December 2022. The legal basis for issuing electronic forms of the rupee flows from the RBI Act, 1934 (Section 22 empowers RBI with the sole right to issue bank notes/currency), amended in 2022 to explicitly cover currency in digital form.
The UMI uses wholesale CBDC as the settlement leg — when a tokenised asset (currently CDs, potentially gold in future) changes hands, the payment settles simultaneously in e₹-W on the same platform, giving "atomicity of settlement" (no gap between asset transfer and payment).
Asset Tokenisation and Financial Market Infrastructure
Tokenisation converts rights over a real or financial asset (a bond, deposit, or a physical commodity like gold) into a digital token recorded on a shared ledger, enabling fractional ownership, programmable transfer conditions, and near-instant settlement. The RBI unveiled the Unified Markets Interface in October 2025 as a next-generation financial market infrastructure to tokenise financial assets and pair them with CBDC-based settlement, reducing reliance on multi-day, multi-intermediary settlement chains used in traditional markets.
Key Details
- UMI unveiled: October 2025, by the RBI.
- First tested instrument: tokenised Certificate of Deposits (CDs), a short-term money-market instrument issued by banks.
- Testing so far: ~248 transactions, ~₹17,000 crore in value, roughly two-thirds in the secondary market.
- Assets under consideration for expansion: gold, bank deposits, commercial paper, corporate bonds.
- Key risks flagged by RBI: legal uncertainty, data privacy, liquidity, interoperability, concentration risk.
Gold tokenisation, if adopted, would let physical gold holdings be represented as digital tokens tradeable and settleable on the UMI using wholesale CBDC — relevant to India's push toward digitising both currency and commodity markets while keeping the central bank at the core of settlement.
Gold as a Financial Asset in Indian Monetary Policy
Gold occupies a dual role in the Indian economy: a savings/investment asset for households (India is among the largest gold-importing and gold-holding nations) and a component of RBI's own foreign exchange reserves. Government schemes like the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) and Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) have historically tried to reduce physical gold imports by offering paper/digital alternatives; gold tokenisation would be a newer, blockchain-based extension of this same policy objective — reducing demand for physical gold storage and import while keeping value linked to the metal.
Key Details
- India is one of the world's largest gold importers, and gold import affects the current account deficit — a recurring UPSC Economics theme.
- SGB scheme (RBI, on behalf of Government of India) and Gold Monetisation Scheme are existing paper-gold instruments predating tokenisation proposals.
Tokenised gold on UMI would be a technologically updated route toward the same policy goal as SGBs/GMS — channeling gold demand into a form that doesn't require physical import and storage.
- UMI unveiled by RBI: October 2025.
- Tokenised CD transactions tested on UMI so far: ~248 transactions worth ~₹17,000 crore (about two-thirds in secondary market).
- Wholesale CBDC (e₹-W) pilot launched: 1 November 2022; retail CBDC (e₹-R) pilot: 1 December 2022.
- Statutory basis for currency issuance (including digital currency): RBI Act, 1934, Section 22, amended 2022.
- Other asset classes under RBI examination for tokenisation: bank deposits, commercial paper, corporate bonds (besides gold).
- Risks flagged by RBI: legal uncertainty, data privacy, liquidity, interoperability, concentration risk.