The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued an important warning to investors. In an official notification issued on Saturday, November 8, Sebi said investors should avoid investing in unregulated products like digital gold or e-gold.
What did SEBI say?
SEBI clarified that these digital gold schemes neither fall under the category of securities nor commodity derivatives. Hence, no safeguards for investors apply to this. Sebi said in its notice that, recently many online platforms are giving investors the option to invest in digital gold or e-gold. These are being promoted as a secure digital alternative to investing in physical gold.
Sebi said that some digital/online platforms are offering investors to invest in 'Digital Gold/E-Gold Products'. Digital gold is being marketed as an alternative to physical gold, while not falling under any regulatory framework.
There will be no legal protection or refund rights
SEBI has warned investors that if they invest in digital gold or e-gold, they will not get the benefit of SEBI's Investor Protection Mechanism. This product is not recognized as a securities or regulated commodity instrument. This means, if the platform selling digital gold defaults or goes awry, investors will have no legal protection or refund rights under SEBI.
There are several options for SEBI-regulated products
SEBI has also clarified that, if an investor wants to invest in gold, he has several options available to him through SEBI-regulated products (gold ETFs, gold mutual funds or sovereign gold bonds). Investments in these products can be made through SEBI-registered intermediaries and are completely safe.
Option to buy gold online
In recent years many private companies have started selling digital gold through mobile apps and websites. For example, companies like Tata Group's CaratLane, SafeGold, Tanishq and MMTC-PAMP offer customers the option to buy gold online under the name Digital Gold.
Gold can also be bought from mobile
Apart from this, apps like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm have also partnered with these companies, allowing users to buy gold from their mobile for even a few rupees. According to CaratLane's website, “Digital Gold is a facility where you can buy gold online, track it and redeem it as jewelry or gold coins as you wish.”
Also read: Gold Rate: What is the price of gold in the year 2026? A big prediction made by Goldman Sachs, investors flocked!
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