Digital Gold Purchases via UPI Surge 377% as SEBI Rules Out New Regulations
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey clarified on Friday that the regulator has no immediate plans to introduce a new regulatory framework for digital gold, stating that it does not fall under SEBI’s jurisdiction. Speaking at the National Conclave on REITs and InvITs 2025, he explained that gold-related investments currently regulated by SEBI are limited to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tradable gold securities offered by mutual funds.
Pandey’s remarks come amid a massive boom in digital gold purchases across UPI platforms. According to data from NPCI, the volume of digital gold transactions surged by 377% over 16 months — rising from 20.92 million transactions in April 2024 to 99.77 million in August 2025. The value of digital gold purchases also saw a sharp jump, more than doubling from ₹550 crore in April 2024 to ₹1,184 crore in October 2025.
SEBI recently issued a public advisory on November 8, warning investors that digital gold and e-gold products are currently unregulated and may involve significant risk, despite being widely marketed as secure, vault-backed alternatives to physical gold. Fintech platforms such as PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm (via SafeGold) and jewellery brands like CaratLane, Tanishq and MMTC-PAMP continue to offer digital vault storage to investors, contributing to the rising popularity of the investment product.
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