Tether Gold Launches on BNB Chain: Tokenized Gold Market Reaches $4 Billion

Tether has introduced Tether Gold (XAU₮) on BNB Chain, enhancing its significant share in the expanding $4 billion tokenized gold market. This launch enables XAU₮ to seamlessly interact with BNB Chain's vast ecosystem, benefiting from improved liquidity and simplified access to gold-backed assets.

Key Takeaways

Tether Gold (XAU₮) is now available on BNB Chain, promoting its dominance in the tokenized gold market.
Each XAU₮ token corresponds to one ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults.
The tokenized gold market has surged from $1.3 billion to over $4 billion amid increasing gold prices.
XAU₮ provides unified liquidity across multiple blockchains, enhancing its usability in the digital financial ecosystem.
The launch aligns with BNB Chain's strategy to solidify its position in the real-world assets sector.

Tether announced on March 26 that Tether Gold (XAU₮) is now operational on BNB Chain, integrating its premier tokenized gold product with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Each XAU₮ token stands for one fine troy ounce of physical gold held under the London Good Delivery standard, securely stored in Swiss vaults with verified 1:1 attestation.

This launch coincides with a significant uptick in the tokenized gold market. In 2025, gold prices soared by 64%, marking the most substantial annual increase in 40 years, which, along with geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties, has led investors to turn towards safe-haven assets. Concurrently, the gold-backed stablecoin market has nearly tripled, rising from approximately $1.3 billion to over $4 billion, with XAU₮ commanding a 60% share of the total supply.

The deployment on BNB Chain leverages Tether’s USDt0 cross-chain network, which ensures that XAU₮ has streamlined liquidity across more than 12 different blockchains. This advanced architecture enhances the efficiency of issuance, transfer, and settlement, while removing the complications tied to traditional gold custody, counterparty fees, and settlement delays.

Tether Gold XAU₮ price chart on BNB Chain

Insights from Tether and BNB Chain Leaders

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, commented, “With XAU₮, we are not altering the essence of gold; we are making it accessible in today’s financial landscape. You still retain direct exposure to physical gold, but it can now be transferred instantly, settle on a global level, and be easily integrated with digital markets. Joining the BNB Chain enhances access for hundreds of millions of users, bringing gold into a framework that allows for practical use beyond mere holding.”

Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain, stated, “XAU₮ on BNB Chain expands what is already the second-largest real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem by total value locked (TVL). It offers users a reliable, gold-backed asset suitable for decentralized finance (DeFi) without any hurdles.”

BNB Chain Strengthens Its Real-World Assets Presence

The introduction of Tether Gold bolsters BNB Chain’s standing in the realm of tokenized real-world assets. As previously reported, the network has seen its RWA value increase by 555% year-over-year during Q4 2024, securing its place as the second-largest RWA blockchain after Ethereum. The inclusion of XAU₮—the premier gold-backed token by market capitalization—underscores this growth as institutions increasingly adopt tokenized commodities.

XAU₮ is issued by TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., a registered Digital Asset Service Provider under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law. Users can access reserve details and vault attestation reports publicly at gold.tether.to. Additionally, Binance listed XAU₮ on March 26, offering perpetual futures, leveraged trading pairs, and principal-protected yield products, though the launch experienced a brief delay.

This move follows Tether’s January introduction of Scudo, a fractional representation of XAU₮ equating to one-thousandth of a troy ounce, aimed at facilitating the everyday use of tokenized gold for payments and transactions on-chain.