USD
Tokenized gold demand rose as reserves climbed 36%
TL;DR
- Tether Gold, XAUt, surpassed $3.3 billion in market value after its gold reserves rose 36% in Q1 2026.
- XAUt was backed by 707,747.139 fine troy ounces of physical gold against 707,747.090000 tokens on March 31, 2026.
- Tether’s wider gold exposure reached about $19.8 billion, equal to roughly 132 tons of bullion and around 10% of total reserves.
We’ve launched the all-new COIN360 Perp DEX, built for traders who move fast!
Trade 130+ assets with up to 100× leverage, enjoy instant order placement and low-slippage swaps, and earn USDC passive yield while climbing the leaderboard. Your trades deserve more than speed — they deserve mastery.
Tether Gold, XAUt, crossed $3.3 billion in total market value after its physical gold reserves expanded sharply in the first quarter of 2026, with demand tied to record-high gold prices and increased macroeconomic uncertainty.
Tether said XAUt was backed by approximately 707,747 ounces of physical gold as of March 31, 2026, while the token’s market value stood at about $3.303 billion. The product kept its core 1:1 backing model, with each token backed by physical gold held in custody.
Reserves climbed as gold demand accelerated
The reserve base increased from roughly 520,000 ounces at the end of 2025 to about 707,747 ounces by March 31, 2026, marking a 36% quarter-over-quarter gain. Tether attributed the acceleration in XAUt demand to “record-high gold prices and increased macroeconomic uncertainty,” while demand was also linked to large investors, geopolitical tensions, and rising spot prices.
Tether’s broader gold exposure also increased. Gold inside the wider reserve portfolio, including USDT backing, reached about $19.8 billion by the end of March 2026, equal to roughly 132 tons of bullion and around 10% of total reserves.
The company’s total gold footprint reached roughly 154 tons when combining about 132 tons tied to broader reserves and about 22 tons backing XAUt. That placed Tether among the largest non-sovereign holders of gold and near the scale of major official holders.
USDT reserves remained led by Treasury bills
Tether’s Q1 2026 gold accumulation for USDT reserves slowed to about 6 metric tons from 27 tons in the fourth quarter of 2025. The overall value of the gold reserve still climbed because the gold stockpile remained large and spot prices stayed elevated.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, previously said the firm aimed to allocate “10%–15%” of its roughly $20 billion non-Treasury portfolio to physical gold. The allocation framed bullion as a strategic reserve asset alongside U.S. government debt and Bitcoin exposure.
“Tether Gold is proving that tokenized commodities can operate with the same seriousness, scale, and reserve discipline expected from major institutional holdings,” Ardoino said.
Ardoino added, “Gold has always been a trusted asset during periods of uncertainty, but XAUt gives it a new form of utility.”
Custody model links tokens to physical bars
XAUt’s gold is stored in Swiss vaults and complies with London Good Delivery standards from the London Bullion Market Association. Custodians hold the bars on behalf of token holders rather than treating them as assets of the issuing entity.
New XAUt tokens are minted only after physical bars complete custodian verification and intake procedures. Each token is linked to specific bars identified by serial number, purity, and weight.
The reserve model includes quarterly confirmatory testing of a sample of gold bars by a qualified independent third party. The product operates under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law while combining Swiss storage, blockchain transparency, and redeemability for physical gold.
FAQ
What is XAUt backed by?
XAUt is backed by physical gold held in custody.
Where is XAUt gold stored?
XAUt’s gold is stored in Swiss vaults.
What law does the product operate under?
It operates under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law.
Why did demand rise?
Tether linked demand to record-high gold prices and increased macroeconomic uncertainty.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
