In addition to USDT, Tether has 80 tons of gold backing the XAUT token.

Author: Bright, Foresight News

On the evening of July 8, Bloomberg reported that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in an interview that Tether has its own vault in Switzerland, currently holding gold worth 8 billion dollars (approximately 80 tons). The vault is located in Switzerland, but for security reasons, the company refused to disclose its exact location and also declined to reveal when it was established.

Most of the gold is directly held by Tether. Paolo Ardoino stated that Tether decided to establish its own vault due to cost issues. Paying fees to vault operators commonly used in the precious metals industry is a very luxurious affair.

Tether has become one of the largest holders of gold globally, aside from banks and nation-states, with approximately $8 billion worth of gold held in its vaults, roughly equivalent to the total value of precious metals and other commodities held by UBS Group. Previously, Paolo Ardoino revealed at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas that Tether's gold reserves amount to 50 tons.

Gold currently accounts for nearly 5% of Tether's total reserves, primarily used to support its gold token XAUT and as collateral for the stablecoin.

Tether Gold (XAUT) is a stablecoin issued by Tether's subsidiary TG Commodities Limited, which is backed by physical gold, with each XAUT token representing 1 ounce of gold certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). Currently, XAUT supports the Ethereum and Tron networks.

In addition, Tether has launched its own Alloy by Tether platform, allowing users to use XAUT as collateral to mint new synthetic dollar stablecoin aUSDT.

According to data from the Tether official website, the current circulating market value of XAUT is approximately 813 million yuan, corresponding to 7.66 tons of gold, or 644 standard "London Good Delivery" gold bars.

According to Tether's official website, XAUT has the inherent advantages of cryptocurrency compared to traditional gold:

1. Convenient for transportation. Transporting XAUT tokens is no different from other crypto assets.

2. Easy to split. The XAUT token can be split into a minimum of 0.000001 troy ounces of gold.

3. Easy trading around the clock. You can trade 24/7, 365 days a year on exchanges that support XAUT.

4. Easy exchange. Tether can deliver physical gold bars to any address within Switzerland.

5. Easy storage. Storing XAUT is no different from other crypto assets.

6. Easy to verify. All physical gold supporting XAUT tokens can be tracked on the Tether website for quick verification of gold allocation.

At the same time, holding XAUT incurs no custody fees, and holders can exchange XAUT for physical gold at any time, provided they meet certain minimum redemption amounts and associated fees. The following are the specific fees for purchasing and redeeming operations on the Tether official website.

Purchase Fee: When purchasing XAUtT through the official Tether platform, a one-time fee of 0.25% is required. In addition, users must complete identity verification and pay a non-refundable verification deposit of 150 USDT, with a minimum purchase amount of 50 XAUT.

Redemption Fee: When exchanging XAUT for physical gold, a one-time fee of 0.25% is required. Currently, the minimum redemption amount is 430 XAUT, which is approximately equivalent to one standard "London Good Delivery" gold bar. Additional shipping fees may also apply.

Currently, mainstream exchanges such as Bybit and Okx have supported spot and leveraged trading of XAUT, while Tether's operating entity Bitfinex directly supports 100 times perpetual contract trading.

However, Tether is not the first to venture into bringing gold onto the blockchain.

PAX Gold (PAXG) is a digital asset issued by the American fintech company Paxos Trust Company that is pegged to physical gold. Each PAXG token represents 1 ounce of gold certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), with the physical gold being custodially held and stored in professional vaults in London by Paxos. PAXG was officially launched on the Ethereum network in 2019 and is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), making it the world's first fully regulated gold-backed stablecoin.

Currently, the market capitalization of PAXG is approximately $843 million, but it is primarily targeted at U.S. customers, and thus is also supported by mainstream U.S. exchanges like Coinbase.

Overall, in the process of compliance with the U.S. "GENUIS" Act, Tether, which is gradually fading out of the U.S. market, is increasingly focusing its vision on emerging markets. Tether's long-accumulated reputation, strong asset reserves, and accessibility of storage methods are all contributing to the globalization of XAUT.