Onchain gold products added billions in new value last year, growing faster than the overall gold market and most major spot gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as onchain trading activity accelerated.
The market capitalization of tokenized gold jumped 177% over the past year, while the number of holders nearly tripled, with more than 115,000 new wallets added during the year, outpacing most other RWA categories, according to data compiled by Cex.io from public blockchain and market sources.
The tokenized gold market added close to $2.8 billion in net value in 2025, expanding from about $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion, per the report. That increase alone represented almost 25% of total net inflows across the RWA sector, exceeding the combined growth seen in tokenized stocks, corporate bonds and non-US Treasurys.
The rally came amid a strong year for gold, which saw its total market value rise more than 67%. Even so, tokenized gold expanded 2.6 times faster than physical gold and outperformed most major spot gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Related: Bitcoin-gold correlation signals at least 50% BTC price gains by March
Tokenized gold hits $178 billion in 2025 trading volume
Tokenized gold recorded about $178 billion in trading volume in 2025, with quarterly volumes peaking above $126 billion in the fourth quarter. By comparison, that would place tokenized gold as the second-largest gold investment product worldwide by trading volume, trailing only SPDR Gold Shares.
Much of the late-year surge was driven by Tether Gold (XAUT), which accounted for 75% of total trading volume in Q4, up sharply from 27% in Q3. According to its website, XAUT has a market cap of $2.42 billion and is backed by 1,329 gold bars, or about 16,239 kilograms of physical gold.
“Such a massive expansion highlights a structural shift in where incremental gold trading liquidity is increasingly forming onchain rather than in traditional products,” the report said.
Notably, tokenized commodities have seen their market cap surpass $4.3 billion. Data from RWA.xyz shows the sector grew 18% over the past month, led by Tether Gold at $1.9 billion and Paxos Gold at $1.7 billion.
Related: Bitcoin loses to gold as debasement trade with BTC at 2-year lows: Analysis
Gold surges on Fed turmoil and rising global tensions
Gold has surged to record highs as investors pile into safe-haven assets amid mounting macro and political uncertainty. Earlier this week, precious metals rallied sharply after reports of a criminal investigation involving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell raised concerns about the central bank’s independence.
Macro data has also benefited the metal. A weaker-than-expected US Consumer Price Index report strengthened expectations for multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, pressuring real yields and the dollar. Lower yields have boosted the appeal of gold as a non-yielding asset, while uncertainty over future monetary policy has added to its bullish momentum.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
