Tether’s $770M XAUT Backed by 7.7 Tons of Gold in Swiss Vault, Says Company

Markets

Share this article

By Tom Carreras, AI Boost|Edited by Stephen Alpher

Apr 28, 2025, 4:33 p.m.

Gold breaks $3,000 an ounce (shutterstock)
  • Tether Gold (XAUT) has reached a $770 million market capitalization and is backed by 7.7 tons of gold stored in a Swiss vault, said the company.
  • XAUT’s growth was fueled by geopolitical tensions and rising inflation fears, Tether said.
  • The stablecoin issuer released XAUT’s first attestation under El Salvador’s regulatory framework.

Tether’s gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAUT), reached a $770 million market capitalization as of April 28, according to the company’s first attestation under El Salvador’s financial regulations.

“While central banks are stacking up hundreds of tons of gold, XAUt is set to become the standard tokenized gold product for the people and institutions,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino posted on X.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Don’t miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto for Advisors Newsletter today.See all newslettersBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to ourterms of useandprivacy policy.

The token is backed 1:1 by 246,523.33 ounces — over 7.7 tons — of physical gold stored in a dedicated Swiss vault, said Tether.

Each XAUT token represents one troy ounce of LBMA-certified gold. Tether said it applies strict controls, including gold bar verification and periodic audits, to maintain trust in the token’s backing.

The attestation comes at a time when global investors are increasingly turning to gold as a hedge against economic instability and rising geopolitical risks.

Central banks, particularly across BRICS nations, have been buying gold at record levels, accumulating over 1,044 metric tons in 2024 alone, according to the World Gold Council.

The yellow metal has touched numerous record highs in 2025 amid an ongoing rally that’s seen its price gain about 27% year-to-date. It’s currently trading at $3,343 per ounce, having more than doubled since November 2022.

Tether emphasized that unlike other tokenized gold products, XAUT is physically backed and regulated, positioning it as a safer option for users wary of “paper gold” exposure.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

Tom writes about markets, bitcoin mining and crypto adoption in Latin America. He has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from McGill University, and can usually be found in Costa Rica. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Tom Carreras

“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.

CoinDesk Bot

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *