LBMA CEO Ruth Crowell Exclusive Interview: As gold and silver prices surge to record highs, Ruth Crowell, Chief Executive of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), says the precious metals industry is entering a transformative phase — one defined by transparency, technology, and trust.
In this exclusive conversation with Virendra Vyas, Founder and Editor of Gold Silver News and Gold Price Today, Crowell discusses LBMA’s push for responsible sourcing, the importance of verified vault data, and the growing influence of digital gold. She also reflects on India’s pivotal role in the global bullion market and shares insights ahead of the upcoming LBMA Global Precious Metals Conference 2025 in Kyoto.
Virendra: What is your feeling about India?
Ruth Crowell: For India, I have a wonderful feeling about India. It’s actually a very special place to me. Very hospitable, but also lots of innovation and of course a lot of passion for gold.
Virendra: There are a lot of things happening in gold globally. We saw from the geopolitical side and the tariff side, a lot of gold moving from London to New York and then again from New York to London. What is the situation now?
Ruth Crowell: So I think the situation now is we’ve had clarity from the U.S. government in terms of bullion will not be tariffed. So we are very delighted to see that formalized in the executive order. And so it should mean that things calm down now. I think the world is still looking at tariffs generally. And of course, I appreciate that Indian jewellery in particular are really suffering here.
Virendra: How do you see the future of gold as we are now seeing Bitcoin, crypto, and other digital assets entering the market? What is your view on gold versus Bitcoin?
Ruth Crowell: So I think first of all, I don’t see it gold versus. I think actually there’s a lot of interest in both — of having something that’s outside of normal printed money, something that can be trusted. I think gold, I would be a little bit more focused on gold, but I think also you have the history, you can understand it.
I think what’s very interesting is when gold becomes fractionalized or digitized and it helps with the settlement — a concept that we all understand in terms of the value of gold — but allowing it to be settled more quickly, efficiently and trusted.
Virendra: From the LBMA side, what are the new initiatives you are working on, especially regarding responsible sourcing?
Ruth Crowell: So I think the biggest thing we’re focused on at the moment is transparency. And I’ll tell you a little bit about why transparency matters. We started publishing vault data from London in 2017. Now this was data that nobody really cared about — you know, conspiracy theorists said there’s no gold.
And in the market, it was a lot of work to get it agreed, partly because the Bank of England had to agree. But we were successful, and I think we got rid of a lot of those rumours in terms of “it’s not real, it’s not there.”
Now earlier this year, you started to see how important it was to have done that work. When, as you say, there were concerns — is London running out of gold? When the numbers came out, as they do every month on a consistent basis, you could see very clearly that yes, it has gone down some, but there are still strong stocks.
So the reason I raise it is that we have now committed to better transparency and responsible sourcing. Refiners now must name the mines that they’re sourcing from and the countries. And it’s the same concept. It’s not something that’s necessarily going to create change straight away, but it will already start to allow us to be seen that we have nothing to hide, we want to be transparent, and we want people to understand where their material is coming from.
Virendra: Gold is now at an all-time high in the market.
Ruth Crowell: I think the world is recognizing the value that this high-quality liquid asset is, in terms of gold as well as silver. You know, both metals have gone up nearly 40% since January — it’s crazy. I think about only it was five years ago, gold broke through that $2,000 ceiling and psychologically, it was a really big deal.
Now, I mean, it’s far from the ceiling — it’s not even the basement! I think the world would panic if gold went down to, you know, the lowly number of $2,000. So yeah, we are living in extraordinary times. But what I think is we will be seeing gold become much, much more mainstream.
Virendra: What are your plans for the upcoming LBMA Conference in Kyoto?
Ruth Crowell: I think it’s amazing where we are with the registration. We have over 720 delegates already, and we still have a good six weeks to go. At this time last year, we had just over 500 — so it’s not just the gold price that’s having a moment. I think everybody wants to know what’s happening and to hear it from the industry experts.
We have grown an enormous amount, and I think that’s also a reflection of how the industry has grown and the increasing interest in gold as a valuable asset.
Virendra: Best of luck for the LBMA Conference.
Ruth Crowell: Thank you so much. It was a real pleasure talking with you.
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