On the evening of July 8, Bloomberg reported that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in an interview that Tether has its own vault in Switzerland, currently holding gold worth $8 billion (approximately 80 tons). The vault is located in Switzerland, but for security reasons, the company refuses to disclose its exact location or the date it was established.

Most of the gold is held directly by Tether. Paolo Ardoino stated that Tether decided to establish its own vault due to cost issues. Paying fees to vault operators commonly used in the precious metals industry is a very extravagant matter.

Tether has become one of the largest holders of gold in the world, aside from banks and nation-states, with approximately $8 billion worth of gold held in its vaults, roughly equivalent to the total value of precious metals and other commodities held by UBS Group. Previously, during his speech at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Paolo Ardoino disclosed that Tether’s gold reserves amount to 50 tons.

Gold currently accounts for nearly 5% of Tether’s total reserves, mainly used to support its gold Token XAUT and as collateral for the stablecoin.

Tether Gold (XAUT) is a stablecoin issued by Tether’s subsidiary TG Commodities Limited, which is backed by physical gold, with each XAUT Token representing 1 ounce of gold certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). Currently, XAUT supports Ethereum and Tron networks.

In addition, Tether has launched its own Alloy by Tether platform, allowing users to use XAUT as collateral to mint new synthetic dollar stablecoin aUSDT.

According to data from the Tether official website, the current circulating market value of XAUT is approximately 813 million, corresponding to 7.66 tons of gold, which is equivalent to 644 standard “London Good Delivery” gold bars.

According to the Tether official website, compared to traditional gold, XAUT has the inherent advantages of cryptocurrencies:

1. Easy to transport. Transporting XAUT Token is no different from other crypto assets.

2. Easy to divide. XAUT tokens can be divided into a minimum of 0.000001 troy ounces of gold.

3. Easy trading around the clock. You can trade 24/7, 365 days a year on exchanges that support XAUT.

4. Easy exchange. Tether can deliver physical gold bars to any address within Switzerland.

5. Easy storage. Storing XAUT is no different from other crypto assets.

6. Easy to verify. All physical gold supporting XAUT tokens can be tracked on the Tether website for quick verification of gold allocation.

At the same time, holding XAUT incurs no custody fees, and holders can exchange XAUT for physical gold at any time, provided they meet certain minimum redemption amounts and associated fees. The following are the specific fees for purchasing and redeeming on the Tether official website.

Purchase fee: When buying XAUT through the official Tether platform, a one-time fee of 0.25% is required. In addition, users must complete identity verification and pay a non-refundable verification deposit of 150 USDT, with a minimum purchase amount of 50 XAUT.

Redemption Fee: When exchanging XAUT for physical gold, a one-time fee of 0.25% is required. Currently, the minimum redemption amount is 430 XAUT, which is approximately equivalent to one standard “London Good Delivery” gold bar. Additional shipping fees may also apply.

Currently, mainstream exchanges such as Bybit and Okx have supported spot and leveraged trading of XAUT, while Tether’s operating entity Bitfinex directly supports 100x perpetual contract trading.

However, Tether is not the first to venture into the gold on-chain.

PAX Gold (PAXG) is a digital asset issued by the American fintech company Paxos Trust Company that is pegged to physical gold. Each PAXG Token represents 1 ounce of gold certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), with the physical gold being custodied and stored in professional vaults in London by Paxos. PAXG was officially launched on the Ethereum network in 2019 and is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), making it the world’s first fully regulated gold-backed stablecoin.

Currently, the market value of PAXG is about 843 million USD, but it is primarily aimed at American customers, and therefore is also supported by mainstream exchanges in the US such as Coinbase.

Overall, as Tether gradually fades out of the US market during the compliance process of the US “GENUIS” Act, it increasingly shifts its focus to emerging markets. Tether’s long-accumulated brand recognition, strong asset reserves, and accessibility of storage methods are all contributing to the globalization of XAUT.

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