Tether Gold lands on BNB Chain as tokenised demand grows

Tether Gold is now listed on BNB Chain, bringing the tokenised gold product to users of one of the largest crypto trading networks.

The product, known as XAU₮, gives users exposure to gold through a digital token rather than direct ownership of bullion. Each token represents one fine troy ounce of physical gold held in Swiss vaults as a London Good Delivery bar, with backing confirmed by independent attestations, according to Tether.

The listing expands the reach of a product that Tether says already holds the largest share of the gold-backed stablecoin market. It says the market grew from about USD $1.3 billion to more than USD $4 billion in 2025, with XAU₮ accounting for about 60 per cent of total supply.

The announcement follows a sharp rise in the gold price. Tether says gold climbed 64 per cent in 2025, marking its biggest annual increase in four decades and logging more than 50 all-time highs as investors shifted towards assets seen as safer during geopolitical tension and trade uncertainty.

Market access

For retail investors, tokenised gold has been marketed as a way to avoid some of the complications of buying and storing physical bullion. Traditional purchases often involve custody arrangements, premiums and settlement delays. Blockchain-based products, by contrast, are designed to trade like other digital assets.

On BNB Chain, XAU₮ has been integrated with the USDt0 network, which Tether describes as infrastructure linking liquidity across more than 12 chains. The setup is intended to make issuance, transfer and settlement more efficient across digital asset markets.

The addition of XAU₮ also gives BNB Chain another real-world asset product in a sector that is drawing growing interest across crypto markets. Tokenised versions of government bonds, money market funds and commodities have attracted rising volumes as blockchain groups try to link traditional financial assets with decentralised finance platforms.

Paolo Ardoino, Chief Executive Officer of Tether, said the listing is intended to widen access to gold in digital form. "People understand gold. They trust it because it has held value for millennia," he said.

"With XAU₮, we are not changing what gold is; we are making it usable in a modern financial system. You still have direct exposure to physical gold, but now it can move instantly, settle globally, and integrate seamlessly with digital markets. Listing on BNB Chain expands that access to hundreds of millions of users, bringing gold into a system where it can actually be used, not just held," Ardoino said.

Regulatory setup

XAU₮ is issued by TG Commodities, which Tether says is registered as a Stablecoin Issuer and Digital Asset Service Provider under El Salvador's Digital Asset Issuance Law. The token is structured so the underlying gold is allocated and identifiable by serial number, purity and weight, and can be redeemed in physical form.

That regulatory status matters because tokenised commodity products have faced scrutiny over reserve quality, custody and redemption arrangements. Tether says reserve details, attestation reports and vault information are publicly available.

BNB Chain described the launch as part of its broader expansion in tokenised real-world assets. "XAU₮ on BNB Chain extends what is already the second-largest RWA ecosystem by TVL. It gives users a trusted, gold-backed asset they can use across DeFi without friction, and it reinforces the direction we have been building toward," said Nina Rong, executive director of growth at BNB Chain.

The listing adds another use case for tokenised commodities at a time when digital asset companies are seeking demand beyond speculative trading. By attaching a blockchain token to vaulted bullion, Tether is betting that investors seeking exposure to gold will increasingly choose a product that can be traded, transferred and posted across crypto venues like other tokens.