Progress and the Road Ahead
The LBMA Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) programme represents a step‑change in how the precious metals industry supports transparency, resilience and confidence across the global gold market. Built in response to growing regulatory, investor and client expectations, GBI is building a modern, secure framework for sharing critical integrity data across LBMA Good Delivery Refiners, vaults and market participants, whilst maintaining client confidentiality.
Since its launch, the GBI system has replaced fragmented and email‑based reporting with a structured, auditable platform, significantly strengthening data security, validation and governance. It now supports direct submissions by Good Delivery Refiners and Assurance Providers, improving the timeliness and quality of information while reducing operational risk. These foundations are already enhancing market transparency, particularly through Country‑of‑Origin reporting, high‑risk supplier data, and other Responsible Sourcing disclosures.
In 2026, GBI will introduce custodian aggregated reporting and voluntary periodic reporting of Country of Origin data. In 2027, periodic reporting will become mandatory, alongside the introduction of bar‑level production and vault holdings data reporting.
The Compliance Infrastructure to Client Value Journey
With the shift from episodic disclosure to ongoing transparency, the GBI programme will increasingly function as a backbone for consistent, timely and verifiable integrity data across the supply chain. For banks and custodians, this represents a material opportunity to transform integrity infrastructure into client value. The integration of enhanced security features offers a pathway to stronger physical‑digital linkage. By connecting bar‑level identifiers (enhanced with approved security features) with trusted reference data, banks and custodians can improve verification processes, respond more rapidly to regulatory queries and offer greater transparency to end‑clients without compromising confidentiality.
The Technology Powering GBI: From Data Collection to Reporting Automation
The GBI programme is built on the Bullion Integrity Ledger™, a distributed ledger technology powered product platform developed and run by aXedras specifically for the precious metals industry. The platform, however, is more than just a reporting submission channel. For companies utilising it to full capacity, such as producers, Refiners, custodians, and banks, it enables the users to aggregate supply, production, and finished bar data efficiently across their entire metals value chain.
It’s based on a harmonised data taxonomy, so the practical consequences are significant. The data needed for internal management, external reporting or disclosures is continuously maintained as a natural output of how the business operates. It is current and structured at all times, rather than drawn together from various internal sources under reporting deadline pressure.
By moving from email-based data exchange between business partners to a standardised, permissioned data platform, GBI has brought meaningful improvements to how integrity data is collected and governed – supporting consistent and verifiable data through automation and standardisation to enhance trust with confidence.
With mandatory bar-level production and vault holdings reporting expanding through 2027, the shared goal is to progressively automate the reporting process for all data submitters. The foundation is already in place: the infrastructure, the data sharing standards, and the network of participants. Automation of the reporting burden for individual Refiners and custodians is the logical next step, and the direction both organisations are committed to pursuing in service of LBMA's long-term vision for a transparent global gold supply chain.
#Beyond the 'Large' Bar
GBI’s potential also extends beyond the large bar market. With an active focus on Asia, future phases might explore the application of integrity and traceability principles to the kilobar market, recognising its regional importance and unique characteristics. By engaging local stakeholders and aligning standards, GBI could help support market chain-of-custody confidence, interoperability and responsible growth across key Asian trading hubs.
These developments, together with the vision for the future, position GBI not just as a reporting solution, but as a cornerstone of a more transparent, resilient and globally connected precious metals ecosystem.
