Tokenized gold is gaining momentum, with its market cap now surpassing $1.2 billion, driven by record-high gold prices and increasing interest in blockchain-based assets.
Investors are drawn to digital gold options like Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) as traditional gold storage methods seem outdated compared to modern digital alternatives.
Don Tapscott of the Blockchain Research Institute believes that tokenizing gold can revolutionize the $13 trillion market by enhancing transparency and liquidity. He argues that digitizing gold reserves could make them more accessible and trackable, contrasting the static vault-based approach still common today.
Leading the market, Paxos holds about 52% of tokenized gold, while Tether follows closely with nearly 47%. Meanwhile, Matador Technologies is exploring innovative methods by offering tokenized gold on the Bitcoin blockchain, combining physical gold claims with limited-edition digital art.
There’s also talk of the US modernizing its gold holdings. After President Trump’s recent move to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at the possibility of monetizing national assets, sparking speculation about tokenizing Fort Knox’s reserves. Some analysts see this as a potential shift in how gold could be managed at a national level.
On the global stage, China and Russia might take a different approach by launching a gold-backed stablecoin, potentially challenging the dominance of USD-backed digital assets. According to Max Keiser, this could appeal to countries seeking a more stable alternative, as gold-backed assets are seen as inflation-resistant compared to volatile cryptocurrencies.
As the financial landscape continues to evolve, the merging of gold with blockchain technology is redefining traditional asset management, signaling a shift toward more transparent and flexible investment solutions.
Tether is deepening its involvement in the tokenized gold space by introducing a new version of its gold-backed stablecoin—XAUt0—on The Open Network (TON).
Robinhood has officially announced the acquisition of Bitstamp, one of Europe’s longest-standing digital asset exchanges.
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin has received the green light from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), paving the way for its use in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is once again stirring innovation in crypto, this time calling for a new kind of decentralized exchange (DEX) that prioritizes privacy for large-scale traders.