Tether Joins Top 30 Gold Holders as Tokenized Gold Tops $4 Billion

Tether has announced that it acquired 27 tons of gold in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company, best known for its USDT stablecoin, revealed the update in a recent blog post.

It emphasized its growing involvement in the tokenized gold market. The disclosure highlights its sizable stake in this expanding sector.

According to the post, Tether tokenized gold XAUT now accounts for more of the entire tokenized gold sector. The sector recently passed $4 billion in value.

Tether Among Top 30 Gold Holders

In its report, the firm highlighted the massive rise in gold prices over the past few years amid macroeconomic uncertainties. In light of this, the firm noted that it has been increasing its gold position.

Tether now holds 520,089 ounces of gold in its physical reserve as of December 31, 2025. It claimed that the physical gold is held in Switzerland in compliance with the London Good Delivery Standards.

Based on its physical gold reserves, it has also issued 520,089 XAUT tokens. This ensured that its tokenized gold is fully backed. However, not all the tokens are in circulation, with only 409,217.64 XAUT tokens sold. This means 110,871.660 tokens are still available for sale.

Interestingly, most gold purchases happened in 2025, with the company adding 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 alone. Unsurprisingly, data from the IMF and Jeffries ranked it among the top 30 gold holders, ahead of Green, Australia, and Qatar.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino spoke about the firm’s gold strategy. He said XAUT places Tether alongside sovereign institutions.

He said:

Tether is also one of the leading holders of US Treasuries, which serve as the primary reserve asset for its USDT stablecoin. The company holds around $135 billion in US Treasuries, putting it among the top 20 holders, ahead of countries such as Germany.

Tokenized Gold Market Cap Surpasses $4 Billion

Meanwhile, tokenized gold continues its rapid growth in 2026 after its market cap more than doubled last year. The sector now has a market cap of over $4 billion, thanks to gold recently crossing the $5,000 milestone.

Two tokens, however, dominate the sector, with Tether XAUT and Paxos PAXG accounting for over 90% of the market. XAUT currently has a market cap of $2.2 billion, while PAXG has a market cap of $2.04 billion. The next closest is XAUM with only $60 million in market cap.

Interestingly, tokenized gold accounted for around 25% of the growth in the real-world asset (RWA) sector last year. With the current performance, which has seen the sector rise more than 15% year-to-date, it is on track to contribute to further growth.