Wintermute sees tokenized gold market tripling to $15B in 2026 – Here’s why!

ambcryptoОпубликовано 2026-02-18Обновлено 2026-02-18

Wintermute, one of the top crypto market makers, has jumped on the tokenized gold trend and expects the market to grow threefold by the end of the year.

The firm unveiled support for tokenized gold trading, starting with Tether Gold and Paxos Gold, on its over-the-counter (OTC) desk for institutional players. This marks the first of its kind, signaling growing traction in the segment.

For Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, the on-chain gold boom could follow the path of the foreign exchange market boom.

“We’re watching gold undergo the same infrastructure evolution that turned foreign exchange into the world’s largest market.”

He added,

“Gold is now following that playbook, and we expect the tokenized gold market to reach $15 billion in 2026 as institutional adoption accelerates.”

Will tokenized gold triple in 2026?

Currently, the overall market cap of the on-chain gold market is about $5 billion, according to Coingecko data. At $15 billion, that would imply a 3x market growth by the end of the year.

According to the market maker, the segment’s explosive traction is already evident. Wintermute believes that the tokenized gold market rivaled the top five traditional ETFs tracking physical gold in trading volume in Q4 2025.

The segment, led by Tether Gold [XAUT] and Paxos Gold [PAXG], hit $126 billion in trading volume in the last quarter, outpacing the top five traditional gold ETFs for the first time.

Will the momentum overshadow BTC?

However, the growth is now being questioned by some analysts. For the unfamiliar, tokenized gold is a token that allows one to gain exposure to physical gold with additional advantages. It is backed by physical gold and supports 24/7 liquidity, instant settlement, and one can buy even small amounts (divisible).

These features make it a welcome upgrade to the traditional bullion storage or ETF wrappers. According to a pseudonymous analyst, TXMC, the challenges of traditional gold are what makes BTC viable and attractive.

Hence, the question – Will the tokenized gold boom dent BTC’s traction?

He implored,

“For ages now, a main story has been that BTC beats gold on divisibility, transportability, and being digital rather than analog. What happens to those advantages if fully backed, tokenized gold products gain traction and are highly liquid?”

In fact, Gaevoy recently told CNBC that the current market weakness didn’t drive capital out of crypto. Instead, the money “repositioned to tokenized gold.”

It remains to be seen whether BTC will trade as a safe haven again or if tokenized gold will derail it.

Final Summary

Wintermute CEO projected that the on-chain gold market cap could grow 3x by the end of the year to $15 billion.
Tokenized gold hit $126 billion in Q4 2025, rivaling major traditional gold ETFs for the first time.

Связанные с этим вопросы

QWhat is Wintermute's projection for the tokenized gold market by the end of 2026?

AWintermute's CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, projects that the tokenized gold market will reach $15 billion by 2026, which would represent a threefold (3x) growth from its current market cap of about $5 billion.

QWhich two tokenized gold products did Wintermute initially support on its OTC desk?

AWintermute initially supported Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) on its over-the-counter (OTC) desk for institutional players.

QHow did the trading volume of tokenized gold compare to traditional gold ETFs in Q4 2025?

AIn Q4 2025, the tokenized gold segment, led by XAUT and PAXG, hit a trading volume of $126 billion, rivaling and even outpacing the top five traditional gold ETFs for the first time.

QAccording to the article, what are some key advantages of tokenized gold over traditional gold?

ATokenized gold offers advantages such as 24/7 liquidity, instant settlement, divisibility (allowing the purchase of even small amounts), and the convenience of being a digital asset backed by physical gold.

QWhat concern does the article raise regarding Bitcoin (BTC) in relation to the rise of tokenized gold?

AThe article raises the concern that if fully-backed, highly liquid tokenized gold products gain significant traction, they could diminish Bitcoin's perceived advantages over gold, such as divisibility, transportability, and being digital, potentially denting BTC's appeal as a safe-haven asset.

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