Tether’s gold-backed XAUT stablecoin clocked a steady demand in the second quarter of 2026 despite gold prices taking a 14 percent hit in the duration. The company, on Monday said, XAUT’s demand rose by 9.5 percent between April and June indicating that tokenized gold is expanding in adoption as a store of value.
For Q2 2026, gold closed at $4,008.02 per ounce. This was a significant correction from its historic peaks earlier in January when gold had surged to an all-time high of over $5,099.36 per ounce. The drop in gold prices can be credited to a stronger US dollar and shifting inflation expectations.
Highlighting this fluction in the price of pysical gold, Tether noted that investors are increasingly turning to tokenized gold as a reliable option for long-term holdings. For its XAUT stablecoin, the evolving investor sentiment is proving to be a key growth driver.
Announcing the development, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino disclosed that more than 53,000 new XAUT tokens were added to circulation to cater to rising investor demands between April and June.
“Q2 offered a clear test of the underlying demand for Tether Gold,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “Gold experienced its sharpest quarterly correction in 13 years, yet token holders continued to accumulate XAUT. They are using periods of market weakness to increase their ownership of physical gold through a product that is fully backed, transparent, portable, and accessible on-chain.”
Each token of the XAUT stablecoin is backed by one troy ounce of physical gold, which Tether holds in fortified Swiss vaults. By its own admission, Tether has accumulated 1,759 London Good Delivery bars — each weighing around 12.5 kilograms, alongside smaller-denomination bars.
“At the end of Q1, 559,598.640000 XAUT had been sold to customers. That figure increased to 612,823.660000 XAUT by the end of Q2. Customer holdings therefore increased by approximately 9.5 percent, representing ownership of an additional 1.66 tonnes of the physical gold already held in reserve,” data shared by Tether noted.
The XAUT stablecoin has also started making gradual inroads into mainstream exchanges, allowing a wider range of global investors purchase it.
Earlier in June, for instance, Bybit debuted XAUT options in partership with liquidity provider Orbit Markets. With this offering, Bybit now allows traders to hedge risk, express market views, and access volatility opportunities with the XAUT token.
More recently, the XAUT recieved its Shariah certification, making it a legitimate investment option in Islamic countries after the token was recognized as an accepted spot community within the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
These developments explain why the XAUT token is roping-in more investors, leading to higher demands.
It is, however, noteworthy that the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is still evolving. This leaves investors to keep pace with a patchwork of changing compliance, reporting, and cross-border transaction rules.
At the time of writing, XAUT was trading at $4,043, as per CoinMarketCap. The token continues to remain the largest digital gold product on the market.
PAX Gold (PAXG) is XAUT’s market rival offering investors exposure to tokenized physical gold. As of press time, PAXG was trading at $4,049.
