Beware of Online Digital Gold Offers, SEBI Warns Investors
The regulator advised the public to exercise caution and make sure that their gold-related investments are only made through SEBI-regulated products and registered intermediaries to protect their interests
Digital Gold
Digital Gold
The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) has issued a public caution advising investors to stay away from unregulated “Digital Gold” and “E-Gold” products offered through online platforms, warning that such schemes operate outside its regulatory purview.
In its press release (PR No. 70/2025), SEBI clarified that it has already enabled safe investment avenues in gold and gold-related instruments through regulated channels such as Exchange Traded Commodity Derivative Contracts, Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offered by mutual funds, and Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) tradable on stock exchanges.
These products, SEBI said, “can be made through SEBI-registered intermediaries and are governed by the regulatory framework prescribed by SEBI.”
However, the regulator noted with concern that “some digital/online platforms are offering investors to invest in ‘Digital Gold/E-Gold Products’,” which are being “marketed as an alternative for investment in physical gold.”
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SEBI made it clear that such digital gold products are not notified as securities nor regulated as commodity derivatives, and “operate entirely outside the purview of SEBI.”
The regulator further warned that such unregulated products “may entail significant risks for investors and may expose investors to counterparty and operational risks.”
The statement also reminded investors that none of the investor protection mechanisms under the securities market framework apply to these unregulated digital gold offerings.
The regulator advised the public to exercise caution and make sure that their gold-related investments are only made through SEBI-regulated products and registered intermediaries to protect their interests.
“Investors/participants are made aware that none of the investor protection mechanisms under securities market purview shall be available for investments in such Digital Gold/E-Gold products,” SEBI warned.
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