CoinNetwork

The gold market activity is shifting from a slowdown in Central Bank purchases to a rise in demand for ETFs and gold-backed cryptocurrency, which recently reached a three-year high. Approximately $800 million in new tokens were minted over the past month, boosting the market capitalization of the sector to $1.43 billion. Additionally, monthly transfer volume surged by 77% to $1.27 billion, indicating a significant resurgence of interest in digital gold representations. The overall trend in the gold market shows that, although Central Bank purchases slowed to two-thirds of last year’s fourth quarter, global gold demand in the first quarter still reached 1,206 tons, a year-on-year rise of 1%, marking the strongest first quarter performance in nearly six years. ETF investment demand surged by 552 tons, indicating that investors are shifting funds towards precious metals, a trend typically led by Central Banks. In terms of price, the average gold price in the first quarter reached a record high of $2,860 per ounce, an increase of 38% compared to last year. However, last week, gold prices fell by 2.35%, with a year-to-date rise of 23.5%.