Tether, the dominant force behind the world's largest stablecoin, USDT, is now strategically pivoting its focus towards the tokenized gold market. Drawing parallels from its successful stablecoin expansion, the firm is making significant investments and aggressive moves to establish its tokenized gold offering, XAU₮, as a global leader.
Strategic Expansion into Tokenized Gold
Tether has made a substantial $150 million investment in Gold.com, a prominent platform in the physical retail gold and precious metals sector. This deal grants Tether a 12% stake and a board seat, marking a clear intent to extend its stablecoin-like market dominance into the gold space. The collaboration is designed for mutual benefit: Gold.com will lease Tether's gold facilities and invest $20 million in XAU₮, while actively promoting Tether's dollar-backed stablecoins. This partnership is expected to enhance XAU₮'s credibility, expand its distribution, and foster greater engagement across both digital and physical gold markets, directly mirroring the successful distribution-led strategy that propelled USDT to global prominence.
Building a Gold Powerhouse
Tether's commitment to tokenized gold extends beyond the Gold.com deal. The firm has actively invested in a range of gold-linked entities, including a $100 million investment in Elemental Altus Royalties and a $200 million injection into financial services platform Antalpha to advance tokenized gold infrastructure. Such aggressive maneuvers have positioned Tether as a top private gold buyer, acquiring 27 tons of physical gold in Q4 2025 alone. Tether executives openly articulate their ambition to become one of the world's largest "gold central banks," viewing this strategic positioning as a long-term hedge against a weakening fiat-based monetary system. While XAU₮ has seen significant growth, the tokenized gold market is becoming increasingly competitive, with Paxos Gold (PAXG) rapidly gaining market share and challenging Tether’s current lead.
