Tether brings tokenized gold to BNB Chain as market tops $4B
Tether has launched its gold-backed token XAU₮ on BNB Chain and listed it on Binance, putting the leading tokenized-gold product squarely inside the world’s largest crypto exchange ecosystem and its hundreds of millions of users.
What XAU₮ is
- Each XAU₮ represents one fine troy ounce of physical gold (London Good Delivery standard) stored in Swiss vaults and independently attested on a strict 1:1 basis. The token is issued by TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., a registered Digital Asset Service Provider under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law. Reserve details and vault attestations are available publicly at gold.tether.to.
Why the timing matters
- The move comes as gold has rallied dramatically: a 64% gain in 2025 — the metal’s biggest annual rise in 40 years — hitting more than 50 all-time highs amid geopolitical and trade uncertainty that pushed investors toward safe havens. Over the same period the tokenized-gold market nearly tripled, from roughly $1.3 billion to more than $4 billion, with XAU₮ capturing about 60% of total supply across networks.
Cross-chain liquidity and usability
- XAU₮ on BNB Chain is deployed using Tether’s USDt0 cross-chain system, which provides unified liquidity across 12+ blockchains. The architecture is designed to streamline issuance, transfers and settlement, removing traditional custody headaches, counterparty premiums and settlement delays associated with physical gold — effectively making physical-gold exposure usable inside digital markets.
Leadership perspectives
- “With XAU₮, we are not changing what gold is; we are making it usable in a modern financial system,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “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.”
- Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain, added that XAU₮ “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.”
BNB Chain and RWA momentum
- The XAU₮ deployment deepens BNB Chain’s tokenized real-world asset (RWA) footprint. The network’s RWA value surged 555% year-over-year in Q4 2024, making it the second-largest RWA blockchain behind Ethereum. Adding the largest gold-backed token by market cap should reinforce that growth as institutions accelerate tokenized commodity adoption.
Exchange rollout and product support
- Binance listed XAU₮ on March 26, offering perpetual futures, leveraged trading pairs and principal-protected yield products. The exchange’s rollout experienced a brief launch delay, moving from 21:30 to 22:00 UTC+8.
Smaller units for on-chain use
- This follows Tether’s January introduction of Scudo, a fractional unit of XAU₮ equal to one-thousandth of a troy ounce, aimed at making tokenized gold practical for payments and everyday on-chain transactions.
Bottom line
- Tether’s BNB Chain launch puts a dominant, fully backed gold token into a massive user base and a fast-growing RWA ecosystem, underlining how traditional commodities are being reimagined for DeFi and broader crypto markets.
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