Tether buys 27 tons of gold, but its tokenized market share slips – Why?

ambcrypto2026-01-27 tarihinde yayınlandı2026-01-27 tarihinde güncellendi

Özet

Tether purchased 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 2025, continuing its aggressive accumulation strategy amid macroeconomic uncertainty and strong safe-haven demand. Gold surged 64% in 2025 and broke the $5,000 mark in 2026, driving retail interest in tokenized gold. Tether Gold (XAUT), backed 1:1 by physical gold, saw its market cap grow to $2.24 billion in early 2026. However, despite this growth, Tether's dominance in the tokenized gold market dropped from 60% to 50%, as competitors like Pax Gold and Kinesis Gold gained traction. The overall tokenized gold market exceeded $5.2 billion, with further growth expected due to ongoing geopolitical and economic risks.

Tether continued its gold buying spree in late 2025, driven by macro uncertainty and growing demand for safe‐haven assets. According to its latest transparency report, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer purchased 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 2025.

This was nearly the same amount of gold as it acquired in Q3, 2025. In fact, its 2025 buying spree rivaled demand from central banks, as the metal crossed new highs and broke key psychological levels.

In 2025, gold posted a 64% gain and is up another 17% so far in 2026, crossing the $5000 mark for the first time.

This explosive run has also driven retail demand for tokenized gold, with the Tether gold [XAUT] market supply growing over 3x from $600 million to $ 1.8 billion by the end of 2025.

In early 2026, Tether Gold’s market cap rose to $2.24 billion, up 26% in January alone, further underscoring investors’ interest in the tokenized gold. The firm’s aggressive demand for gold is used to back issued XAUT tokens on a 1:1 basis, the report noted.

Commenting on the report, Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said,

“Through Tether Gold, we are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders, and that carries real responsibility.”

Ardoino added that XAUT exists to ‘remove ambiguity’ as confidence in monetary systems weakens and is put to a stress test by institutions and people.

Tether’s share in tokenized gold market drops

That said, the tokenized gold boom has also seen Tether’s market share trimmed by nearly 10%. According to CoinGecko data, Tether gold held nearly 60% market dominance as of November 2026.

However, in early 2026, Tether Gold’s market share had dropped to 50% ($2.6 billion), while Pax Gold, the second-largest tokenized gold, had a 40% market share.

Kinesis Gold appeared to be the rising star that has eaten into most of the market share. Its dominance rose from zero in November to nearly 8% as of early 2026.

Meanwhile, the tokenized gold market has surpassed $5.2 billion and could grow further if geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty drive physical gold prices higher.

Final Thoughts

Tether added 27 tons of gold in Q4 2025, nearly the same amount bought in Q3, as the commodity extends its bull run into 2026.
However, Tether Gold has lost 10% of its market share amid the tokenized gold boom

İlgili Sorular

QHow much gold did Tether purchase in Q4 2025 and what was the reason behind this purchase?

ATether purchased 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 2025. This buying spree was driven by macro uncertainty and growing demand for safe-haven assets.

QWhat was the performance of gold in 2025 and early 2026, and what key price level did it cross?

AIn 2025, gold posted a 64% gain. It is up another 17% so far in 2026, crossing the $5000 mark for the first time.

QDespite the growth of its XAUT token, why did Tether's market share in the tokenized gold market drop?

ATether's market share dropped by nearly 10% because new competitors, particularly Kinesis Gold, entered the market and captured a significant portion of the growing tokenized gold sector.

QWhat is the current size of the total tokenized gold market and what factors could drive its further growth?

AThe tokenized gold market has surpassed $5.2 billion. It could grow further if geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty continue to drive physical gold prices higher.

QAccording to Tether's CEO, what is the primary purpose of the XAUT token?

AAccording to CEO Paolo Ardoino, XAUT exists to 'remove ambiguity' as confidence in monetary systems weakens and is put to a stress test by institutions and people.

İlgili Okumalar

The $4 Quadrillion Switch Has Been Flipped: DTCC Moves Wall Street On-Chain, an Infrastructure Shift, Not a Crypto Bet

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which custodies $115 trillion in assets and settles quadrillion-dollar securities annually, has executed its first real settlement of tokenized stocks, ETFs, and treasury securities. This marks a fundamental infrastructure shift in global finance, not merely a cryptocurrency experiment. Key insights from a discussion with DTCC's digital asset lead and BCG partners frame this transition. First, this is a multi-decade rebuild of financial rails, akin to telecom's shift to packet-switching, potentially exposing 15-30% of bank profits by 2035. Second, atomic settlement is a misnomer for scale; DTCC's netting eliminates 98% of gross obligations, a liquidity necessity. The first major application will be in collateral and repo markets, enabling near real-time, 24/7 movement and valuation of trillions in assets, reducing capital costs. BCG's projection of $8.8 trillion in tokenized real-world assets by 2035 assumes a 16% penetration rate, but momentum matters more than the precise figure. Winners will be structural orchestrators that abstract blockchain complexity for clients, not proponents of any single chain. Crucially, risk management is becoming code, with compliance logic embedded in smart contracts, though the role of human discretion in crises remains an open question. The core debate is settled: the system's deepest node has moved. The remaining variable is the adoption timeline.

marsbit4 dk önce

The $4 Quadrillion Switch Has Been Flipped: DTCC Moves Wall Street On-Chain, an Infrastructure Shift, Not a Crypto Bet

marsbit4 dk önce

CLARITY Act Deadlocked: The "Vacuum Enforcement" Trick of the Moral Clause

The CLARITY bill faces a stalemate over its ethics clause, specifically the enforcement mechanism. While former President Trump's endorsement and a compromise on a clause banning top federal officials from holding personal crypto interests moved the bill forward, a critical divide remains: Republicans want enforcement by the Justice Department, whose Attorney General candidate is Trump's former private lawyer. Democrats argue this creates a conflict of interest and insist on state attorney general enforcement. This deadlock cooled the initial market rally spurred by the bill's increased passage probability. The updated text also includes other key provisions: exempting non-custodial developers, protecting self-custody rights, regulating stablecoin rewards, and establishing a cybersecurity center. With less than three weeks until a potential Senate vote, market probability for enactment remains below 50%. The article also briefly covers Helium's Q2 report, highlighting a shift in its tokenomics, and Ramp's integration of stablecoin payments for businesses.

marsbit6 dk önce

CLARITY Act Deadlocked: The "Vacuum Enforcement" Trick of the Moral Clause

marsbit6 dk önce

The Perfect Founder-Market Fit: Bear Markets Are the Ultimate Test

"Founder-Market Fit in a Bear Market: The Ultimate Test" While AI captures the vast majority of venture capital and attention, the current crypto bear market is revealing the strongest cohort of founders in four cycles. These operators, hailing from institutions like Goldman Sachs, Citadel, and Stripe, are not chasing narratives. They are converging on the now-compelling "hard problem" of institutional-grade financial infrastructure. Founder-market fit—the alignment between a specific founder's unique capabilities and a specific market's needs—is the most durable signal in venture. Products, markets, and regulations change, but this fit compounds even when prices don't. The bear market is the best environment to identify it. Talent is now concentrated on two serious verticals: AI and fintech. The quality of founders choosing blockchain for finance is unprecedented. Evidence is in who's building: founders from elite traditional finance backgrounds are tackling on-chain institutional infrastructure (e.g., Ondo's Nathan Allman, Offchain Labs' Ed Felten). Market data supports this shift, with tokenized real-world assets and stablecoins growing significantly and major banks launching products. The author evaluates founders on four traits: 1) Deep domain expertise (lived experience, not just theory), 2) High agency (ability to sell a vision based on deep market understanding), 3) Unfair network advantage (relationships that accelerate execution), and 4) Obsession (long-term commitment rooted in belief, not hype). In a bull market, momentum does the work. A bear market strips that away, leaving only belief—the observable output of true founder-market fit—as fuel. This period filters out tourists, leaving builders who see the long-term opportunity. For serious operators considering the space, the bear market is not a risk but a proving ground and the cleanest environment to build compounding advantage. The commitment is to back such founders at the intersection of market and conviction, as in every prior cycle.

marsbit10 dk önce

The Perfect Founder-Market Fit: Bear Markets Are the Ultimate Test

marsbit10 dk önce

Uniswap Token Jar: Unlocking Protocol Revenue Through Burning, New Gameplay Live on 11 Chains

Uniswap’s "Token Jar" mechanism links protocol revenue directly to UNI token burns. The smart contract accumulates a share of fees from Uniswap transactions across 11 chains, and funds can only be withdrawn by permanently burning UNI. This system, enacted after the UNIfication governance vote in December 2025, turns token destruction into a core requirement for accessing protocol income. The recent launch of Robinhood Chain, where Uniswap serves as the native exchange, has dramatically boosted volumes—reaching $3.75B in daily trades—pushing daily UNI burns to a record 186,000 tokens. New proposals aim to extend the fee model to Robinhood Chain and activate v4 fees on seven major chains, potentially accelerating the burn cycle. This creates a reinforcing loop: more chain adoption drives more fees into the Jar, requiring more UNI burns to unlock them. While concerns remain about liquidity provider margins, the design aligns incentives across the ecosystem and transforms UNI from a pure governance token into one with a direct claim on protocol revenue.

marsbit12 dk önce

Uniswap Token Jar: Unlocking Protocol Revenue Through Burning, New Gameplay Live on 11 Chains

marsbit12 dk önce

Hackers’ Day | July 23: $35.5M Lost. A Reminder That Security Is a Shared Responsibility

On July 23, a series of major DeFi security incidents resulted in combined losses of approximately $35.5 million within six hours. The attacks primarily exploited vulnerabilities in cross-chain bridge infrastructure and supporting systems, rather than the underlying blockchains themselves. These events underscore that security is a shared responsibility across the crypto industry, extending far beyond smart contracts to include infrastructure resilience and operational safeguards. The report highlights the need for continuous industry-wide improvements in areas such as independent audits, proof of reserves, protection funds, and transparent risk management. It also provides safety tips for users, emphasizing the importance of evaluating a platform’s security measures and transparency before depositing funds. Finally, the article outlines WEEX exchange’s security framework, which includes a 1,000 BTC Protection Fund, 1:1 Proof of Reserves, and enterprise-grade infrastructure, developed over eight years of operation. The core message is that effective security is built proactively, through long-term commitment and industry-wide collaboration, not merely in response to incidents.

TheNewsCrypto17 dk önce

Hackers’ Day | July 23: $35.5M Lost. A Reminder That Security Is a Shared Responsibility

TheNewsCrypto17 dk önce

İşlemler

Spot