The tokenized gold market has experienced explosive growth in recent months, establishing itself as one of the most dynamic segments within RWAs in the crypto ecosystem.
According to market reports, the market capitalization of tokenized gold increased by 177% during the year, rising from approximately $1.6 billion to nearly $4.4 billion, representing almost 25% of the total net growth of the tokenized asset market.
Among the main players in this boom is Tether Gold (XAUT), which dominates much of the trading activity and stands out as a clear example of the adoption of traditional assets in digital formats.
The Real World Assets (RWA) market has found its strongest growth engine in precious metals for 2025. According to data from RWA.xyz, the market capitalization of tokenized gold reached $4.4 billion, representing a 177% year-over-year increase. This movement is led by Tether Gold (XAUT), which currently dominates the sector with a market capitalization exceeding $980 million, according to DefiLlama records.
An unprecedented acceleration
To understand the magnitude of this milestone, it’s necessary to compare this cycle with the “crypto winter” of 2022. While back then digital gold barely served as a temporary safe haven with a 60% growth rate, the current expansion is 2.6 times faster than that of traditional investment vehicles like the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ETF. This quantitative difference confirms that institutional capital is no longer just looking for the asset itself, but for on-chain efficiency.
The key to this boom lies in operational utility. As the Tether analysis team indicates in its latest transparency update: “Tokenizing precious metals eliminates custody and transportation frictions, allowing a historically static asset to become a liquid and divisible piece of collateral in the DeFi ecosystem.”
This view is supported by online activity. According to the RWA.xyz dashboard, the annualized trading volume of these assets reached $178 billion, surpassing the daily liquidity of several traditional mining funds.
This shift is not merely speculative; it represents an evolution in ownership architecture:
- Individual Investors: They gain access to the security of physical gold held in custody in Switzerland (in the case of XAUT) with instant liquidity and no prohibitive minimums.
- DeFi Protocols: Integrating these tokens as stable collateral reduces reliance on algorithmic stablecoins, providing a layer of security backed by commodities.
The growth of tokenized gold suggests that products like XAUT and similar offerings are not mere experimental curiosities, but increasingly important components of both the crypto and traditional financial landscape. With its ever-expanding market capitalization and trading volumes beginning to rival those of traditional investment vehicles, on-chain gold could become a mainstay of emerging digital markets, offering a blend of security, liquidity, and accessibility that few assets have historically achieved.
This development demonstrates that the tokenization of real assets can transform not only how traditional securities are traded, but also how the global economy integrates with decentralized technologies. And with products like XAUT leading the charge, the potential for growth and adoption of tokenized assets appears to be just beginning.
