A risky macroeconomic panorama has sparked a brand new gold rush amongst institutional buyers and central banks, with gold bullion hitting file highs this yr — a pattern that has additionally prolonged to Tether’s gold-backed digital token.
By the tip of the second quarter, Tether Gold (XAUt) — a tokenized commodity providing direct publicity to bodily bullion — was backed by 7.66 tons of advantageous troy ounces of gold, in accordance with the corporate’s newest attestation report, verified by BDO Italia.
This reserve helps over 259,000 XAUt tokens in circulation, giving the asset a complete market capitalization exceeding $800 million.
The worth of Tether Gold carefully tracks the market worth of bodily gold, which is buying and selling just under $3,400 per troy ounce. XAUt successfully brings gold onto the blockchain, combining the timeless enchantment of the yellow metallic with the portability, divisibility and redeemability options generally related to Bitcoin (BTC).
Over the previous 12 months, XAUt’s value has surged by 40%, mirroring the efficiency of spot gold, in accordance with Bloomberg information.
Tether Gold, which launched in January 2020, is offered for buying and selling on a number of main crypto exchanges, together with Bybit, Bitfinex, BingX and KuCoin. The token not too long ago expanded its presence to Thailand by way of the Maxbit cryptocurrency change.
As Cointelegraph reported, Tether’s liquidity community, USDT0, not too long ago launched an omnichain model of XAUt on The Open Community (TON).
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Gold demand positive factors momentum amid macroeconomic and geopolitical turbulence
Whereas crypto buyers have lengthy touted Bitcoin as “digital gold,” providing comparable qualities to bullion with added portability and digital-native options, bodily gold stays the last word safe-haven asset throughout instances of uncertainty.
In line with the World Gold Council (WGC), international central banks amassed over 1,000 metric tons of bullion in 2024, marking the third consecutive yr surpassing that milestone. The Council additionally famous that the overwhelming majority of central bankers count on bullion reserves to proceed rising over the following 12 months.
“This isn’t regular,” wrote Christopher Gannatti, international head of analysis at WisdomTree, commenting on the speedy tempo of gold accumulation by financial authorities. “For many years, central banks had been internet sellers of gold. Now they’re stockpiling it once more.”
“In a world of rising geopolitical threat and forex weaponization, gold is likely one of the few property that travels nicely throughout borders and regimes,” Gannatti added.
Institutional buyers have adopted go well with, pouring billions into gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the second half of 2024.
This momentum has carried into 2025, with the primary half of the yr witnessing the most important gold ETF inflows in 5 years, in accordance with WGC information. Gold ETFs recorded $38 billion in inflows throughout the first six months, growing collective holdings by 397.1 metric tons of bodily bullion.
The surge in demand has been pushed by escalating geopolitical and financial considerations, together with US President Donald Trump’s commerce conflict, which has amplified fears of financial instability and a possible recession.
Economist Peter Schiff has additionally highlighted persistent inflation dangers as a key driver of gold’s enchantment. Inflationary pressures have resurfaced in the USA, with the Federal Reserve anticipating value will increase to speed up within the second half of the yr as tariffs push prices greater for producers and customers.
This outlook has prompted a cautious stance on financial coverage. Morningstar’s senior US economist, Preston Caldwell, famous that he has “delayed expectations of fee cuts” in mild of those inflationary traits.
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