KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Tether increased its gold exposure by roughly 27 metric tons in the fourth quarter, reinforcing XAUT’s one-to-one physical gold backing.
- XAUT now represents just over half of the global gold-token market, far ahead of its closest competitor.
- Rising gold prices, geopolitical risk, and accelerating RWA tokenization are driving rapid growth in gold-backed digital assets.
CONTENT
Tether added another 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 2025, strengthening XAUT’s position as the dominant gold-backed token with over 50% market share amid surging demand for on-chain safe-haven assets.
TETHER RELEASES Q4 ATTESTATION FOR TETHER GOLD
Stablecoin issuer Tether released its fourth-quarter attestation report for Tether Gold ($XAUT) on Monday. As of December 31, its total gold reserves stood at approximately 520,089 troy ounces, with a total market value of about USD 2.25 billion. In addition, Tether-affiliated funds increased their gold exposure by roughly 27 metric tons in the fourth quarter of 2025, broadly in line with analysts’ estimates of around 26 metric tons purchased in the third quarter.
XAUT SUPPLY AND BACKING DETAILS
According to Tether’s statement, each XAUT token is backed by one ounce of physical gold. Current circulating supply stands at 522,089 tokens, of which 110,871 are available for sale. This indicates that Tether has pre-allocated additional token inventory that has not yet been formally distributed.
GOLD PRICE SURGE AND TOKENIZED GOLD GROWTH
Following a 64% surge in 2025, gold has risen a further 18% year-to-date, breaking above the USD 5,000-per-ounce threshold. Tether noted that demand for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is accelerating, with gold-backed tokens expanding rapidly in 2025, growing in total market capitalization from roughly USD 1.3 billion to more than USD 4 billion.
DRIVERS BEHIND THE EXPANSION
The company attributed this growth to record-high gold prices, increasing geopolitical fragmentation, and rising demand from both institutions and digitally native users for “assets that function as hedges while remaining fully on-chain.”
TETHER EMERGES AS A MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL GOLD BUYER
Tether added that its gold-backed tokenization strategy has made it a significant institutional gold buyer. The company wrote:
“Based on data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a report published by Jefferies at the end of 2025, Tether now ranks among the world’s top 30 holders of gold, surpassing countries such as Greece, Qatar, and Australia. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, Tether Gold Investments (including Tether International Limited and TG Commodities Limited) increased the fund’s gold exposure by approximately 27 metric tons, exceeding the amount purchased by most individual central banks during the same period.”
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in the statement: “Our current operating scale allows the Tether Gold Investment Fund to stand alongside sovereign-level gold holders, and that comes with real responsibility.”
CENTRAL BANK COMPARISON
By comparison, the National Bank of Poland was the most aggressive buyer among central banks that publicly report gold purchases, adding 35 metric tons to its reserves in the fourth quarter, bringing total holdings to 550 metric tons.
XAUT MARKET SHARE LEADERSHIP
According to data from The Block, as of January 25, XAUT’s market capitalization stood at approximately USD 2.61 billion, accounting for about 51% of the global gold-backed token market. The second-largest is Paxos-issued PAXG, with a market share of around 40%.
