Tether Eyes $200M Fundraise to Stockpile Tokenized Gold
Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, is doubling down on real-world assets.
Largest stablecoins by market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)
According to reports, Tether and Singapore‑based Antalpha Platform Holding have expanded an earlier partnership to build a US$200 million digital‑asset treasury (DAT).
The vehicle’s purpose is to stockpile XAU₮, Tether’s gold‑backed ERC‑20 token, which represents physical gold stored in secure Swiss vaults. Each XAU₮ is backed by a London Good Delivery bar with a unique serial number.
Key details from the partnership include:
- Fund‑raising goal: at least US$200 million to develop a gold‑backed tokenized treasury.
- Asset backing: XAUâ‚® is backed by physical gold and currently has a market capitalization around US$1.5 billion.
- Reserves: Tether reported holding 7.66 tons of gold (about 250,000 XAU₮ tokens) by the end of Q2 2025. Its balance sheet also includes US$8.7 billion in physical gold according to mid‑2025 attestations.
- Antalpha stake: Antalpha, which launched a Real World Asset (RWA) hub offering XAU₮ custody and lending services, owns an 8.1 % stake in the DAT project. Tether bought this stake through Antalpha’s initial public offering, aligning both firms’ interests.
- USDT dominance: The move aims to diversify Tether’s US$174 billion USDT supply into asset‑backed products.
Antalpha’s RWA hub plans to create redemption vaults in major financial hubs so XAU₮ holders can exchange tokens for physical bars. Antalpha CFO Paul Liang said the goal is to make digital gold “more tangible†for users.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, added that gold’s historic role as a store of value will help XAU₮ serve as a hedge or liquidity source.
Tether’s Long‑Term Pivot to Commodities
Tether’s gold push is part of a broader commodities diversification strategy.
An in‑depth analysis by Discovery Alert notes that Tether has been building positions throughout the gold supply chain, investing in mining operations, refining facilities and trading platforms.
The company currently holds $8.7 billion in physical gold reserves, stored in secure vaults in Zurich. Gold now represents a hedge against concentration risk; nearly 80 % of Tether’s $162 billion reserves were previously held in cash equivalents and U.S. Treasurys.
The timing coincides with a historic rally in precious metals. Gold prices have surged 36.5 % in 2025, reaching record highs of about $3,600 per ounce.
Price of gold (Source: TradingView)
Analysts attribute the rally to institutional investors seeking safe‑haven assets amid economic uncertainty. By accumulating tokenized gold, Tether hopes to capture both price appreciation and growing demand for gold‑backed digital assets.
Tether has also built a track record in real commodities. The company started lending profits to commodity traders in October 2024 and financed a $45 million crude‑oil trade in November 2024. These early ventures laid the groundwork for the current gold strategy.
Latest Gold Price
Live pricing data from PriceGold.net, a metals‑market information service, shows that on Oct. 4 2025 the spot price of gold per ounce was $3,886.80. Gold opened at the same price and recorded no intraday change.
The site lists the per‑gram price at $124.96, with identical high and low values, reflecting holiday‑weekend quiet trading. PriceGold’s country breakdown shows the equivalent per‑ounce cost across various currencies, highlighting that strong demand has driven record levels globally.
Implications
Tether’s $200 million fundraising to stockpile XAU₮ signals that stablecoin issuers are moving beyond purely digital reserves.
By integrating tokenized gold into its balance sheet, Tether aims to differentiate itself from rivals like USDC and DAI and to attract traditional investors seeking inflation hedges. The strategy also supports real‑world asset tokenization, a trend that could broaden cryptocurrency’s appeal by linking blockchain technology to tangible commodities.
As the crypto industry matures, Tether’s bet on tokenized gold could mark the beginning of a broader shift: stablecoin issuers transforming into diversified financial firms with both digital and physical assets on their books.
Investors should monitor regulatory developments and market adoption of XAU₮ while keeping an eye on gold’s price trajectory and USDT’s continued stability.
