Tether's gold-backed token XAUT just hit $770 million in market cap backed by 7.7 tons of actual shiny metal.

Each token is pegged to one troy ounce of gold stored in a Swiss vault, and they have finally obtained an official attestation to prove it.

This isn't your grandpa's gold ETF – it's physical gold bars with blockchain superpowers.

The Receipts Are In

Tether finally released an attestation under El Salvador's financial rules, which is an audit with a fancy name.

There are exactly 246,523.33 troy ounces of gold backing those tokens, and you can verify the bar numbers yourself if you're into that sort of thing.

They're conducting regular audits, certificate checks, and even gold assays with auditors present, providing significantly more transparency than we typically receive from Tether.

Even Paolo Ardoino is sounding less cryptic than usual, saying XAUT lets users "access the security of physical gold in a digital form."

Why Gold Is Pumping

Central banks are hoarding gold like preppers stockpile canned beans.

They added over 1,044 metric tons to their reserves in 2024 alone, with BRICS countries now controlling approximately 20% of the global gold reserves.

Russia and China are leading the gold rush as they attempt to reduce their dollar dependency, a move aimed at ensuring greater independence over their economies.

Gold prices are up 27% this year, blowing past $3,343 per ounce and making the S&P 500 look like a stablecoin.

Not Your Average Gold Token

Tether is flexing hard on other gold tokens with their Swiss vaults and regulatory setup.

Unlike most crypto projects, they buy the gold first, then mint the tokens, not the other way around.

The gold is stored in Switzerland, which is essentially the European equivalent of Fort Knox, but with better chocolate.

Tether Gold is now regulated in El Salvador, which is either bullish or concerning, depending on your view of Bitcoin Beach.

Safety First

They've got multi-sig wallets protecting the digital side and actual vaults protecting the physical gold.

There's even a SOC 2 Type 1 audit of their systems, which shows they’re living up to the “don’t trust–verify” narrative that has so far defined digital assets. 

The usual KYC/AML protocols are in place, so you can't use it for anything fun, just like every other regulated product.

Big News For Gold

Gold is having its moment while the world burns, and Tether is riding the wave.

XAUT is essentially the ideal middle ground between traditional gold bars and crypto – it has physical backing while offering digital flexibility.

Central banks and crypto whales alike are looking for inflation hedges that don't require a bunker to store.

Peter Schiff is surely torn between loving the gold and hating the blockchain it rode in on.