As gold prices surged to $5,300 this week, Tether and Coinbase — the two companies behind the world’s largest US dollar stablecoins — are taking different approaches to gaining exposure to the precious metal.
Spot gold climbed above $5,300 per ounce on Wednesday, posting a record high of $5,311 at 3:30 am UTC, according to TradingView data.
Amid the rally, Tether, issuer of USDt (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin, doubled down on its gold accumulation, while Coinbase, a key partner in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin consortium, has promoted access to gold futures on its platform.
The contrasting strategies show the different ways crypto companies are positioning themselves as gold booms and Bitcoin (BTC) continues to lag, trading below $90,000, according to CoinGecko.
Tether hoards 130 tons of gold, aiming to become a “gold central bank”
Tether, which also issues the gold-backed stablecoin XAUt (XAUT), has been accumulating gold as part of its reserves for some time, reporting $12 billion in exposure as of September 2025.
The company holds 520,089 troy ounces of gold for XAUT — roughly 16.2 metric tons — separately from a broader reserve of 130 metric tons, worth around $22 billion at current prices.
“Tether maintains approximately 130 metric tons of physical gold, and the gold backing every XAUT token is held separately, making it eligible for physical delivery redemption,” a spokesperson for Tether told Cointelegraph.
By holding this much gold, Tether is comparable with central banks in countries such as Mexico, South Africa and Sweden, according to reserves data from the World Gold Council.
“We are soon becoming basically one of the biggest, let’s say, gold central banks in the world,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg.
Coinbase highlights gold futures trading amid bullion rally
Meanwhile, Coinbase has been highlighting its commodity futures offerings as gold rallies, reminding users that the platform allows trading in multiple metals, including gold and silver.
“You can trade precious metals on Coinbase,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in an X post on Tuesday. “Silver, gold, copper and platinum futures are available on Coinbase,” he added.
Commentators noted that futures trading does not involve physical delivery, while some described the post as a “top signal” for traders, potentially hinting that the market is peaking.
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Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by reported trading volumes, also launched perpetual futures tied to gold and silver in early January.
With the latest price spike, spot gold is up 90% over the past year, while Bitcoin is down 13%, and traded at $89,351 at the time of writing.
The US dollar index has declined about 10.7% over the same period, adding to gold’s appeal as a hedge.
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