The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has warned investors who are investing in ‘Digital Gold/E-Gold products’ offered by digital/online platforms, which are being marked as an alternative
for investment in physical gold. In a notification on November 08, the market regulator calls these products ‘unregulated’ and ‘operate entirely outside the purview of Sebi’.
“…it is informed that such digital gold products are different from SEBI regulated gold products as they are neither notified as securities nor regulated as commodity derivatives,” Sebi informs in the notification.
It simply means that if, by chance, these online/digital platforms default on investors’ investments via Digital Gold/E-Gold products, then they don’t have the regulator’s protection mechanism. They can’t knock Sebi’s doors for help for their investment.
Stick To ETFs, EGRs, Says Sebi
The market regulator has advised investors to invest in only those gold and gold-related instruments that are regulated by Sebi. These are exchange traded commodity derivative contracts, Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offered by Mutual Funds and Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) tradeable on stock exchanges.
Investments in these regulated gold products can be made through SEBI-registered intermediaries and are governed by the regulatory framework prescribed by SEBI, the regulator adds in the notification.
Gold Rallies Over 50% In 2025
The investment in gold and gold-related instruments has surged in recent times after the record rally of the yellow metal year-to-date in 2025. Gold is almost up 50 per cent, the second-best-performing asset after Silver. Several factors are attributed to this record rally: macroeconomic volatility, large hoarding by central banks globally and tepid performance by equity market.
Sebi’s warning against unregulated digital gold investment raises a matter of concern. So many of the investors are turning towards these online platforms to purchase digital gold, a form of gold investment where you buy an electronic representation of physical gold being offered by them.
There’s a surge in the investment of gold ETFs, according to AMFI monthly data. The net inflow in Gold ETFs jumped to Rs 8,363 crore in September 2025, up 4x from August at Rs 2,189 crore. AUM rose sharply by around Rs 17,640 crore (24%).
