What is Tether Gold?
Tether Gold (XAUT) is a token from TG Commodities, a Tether company, where each token represents one fine troy ounce of gold on a London Good Delivery bar stored in Switzerland. Its price follows gold rather than the dollar. It lets people hold and move gold exposure on blockchains in small amounts.
Utility Lens
What Tether Gold actually does
Turns ownership of vaulted physical gold into a token you can hold in small amounts and transfer anytime.
- Real-world usage
- growingXAUT trades on several exchanges and, per Tether's reports, is backed by billions of dollars' worth of vaulted gold.
- Token necessity
- essentialThe token is the ownership claim itself; there is no separate network token.
- Decentralization
- centralizedA single Tether company controls issuance, custody arrangements and redemption.
- Track record
- provenLaunched in 2020 with no reported reserve shortfall, though its issuer group has faced past regulatory settlements over USDT.
What it’s used for
People hold XAUT as gold exposure without storing bars themselves, trade it on crypto exchanges, and use it as collateral in some DeFi and lending platforms. Large holders can redeem whole bars for delivery in Switzerland.
Role of the XAUT token:
Evidence of real use
- Tether Gold launched in 2020; each token represents one fine troy ounce on an LBMA Good Delivery bar, redeemable only in whole bars with delivery to a Swiss address. Source
- Tether publishes quarterly Tether Gold reserve reports with independent reports from BDO Italia; the latest listed was as of June 30, 2026. Source
- If a redeemer asks TG Commodities to sell their gold instead, proceeds are paid in dollars less a 25 basis point fee. Source
How Tether Gold works
When you hold XAUT, you hold a claim on specific gold in a vault, not a promise to pay dollars. TG Commodities buys gold in the Swiss market and allocates it to tokens, so each token stands for one fine troy ounce on a London Good Delivery bar. Because the token tracks gold, its dollar price rises and falls with the gold market rather than staying at $1.
Redemption is built for large holders. You must verify your account with TG Commodities and redeem in whole bars, and Tether suggests holding about 430 XAUT to cover one bar. The bar can be delivered to an address in Switzerland, with delivery costs on top, or TG Commodities can sell it and wire dollars to you, minus a 25 basis point fee.
Tether publishes quarterly reserve reports showing the gold held by its custodian for tokens in circulation, with independent reports from BDO Italia. Those reports confirm holdings at a point in time rather than providing a continuous audit. XAUT is not supervised by a US regulator, and because it is a gold token rather than a dollar token, the GENIUS Act's payment-stablecoin rules are not designed for it.
Key moments
- 2020TG Commodities launches Tether Gold, backed by gold bars in Swiss vaults.
- 2025Tether relocates its group headquarters to El Salvador.
- 2026Quarterly reserve reports with BDO Italia continue, the latest listed as of June 30, 2026.
Supply
There is no fixed cap. New XAUT is created when TG Commodities sells tokens backed by newly allocated gold, and tokens are removed when holders redeem. Supply is limited in practice by how much gold the issuer holds for token holders.
Risks to understand
- Gold price risk: XAUT moves with gold, so its dollar value can fall significantly.
- Custody and issuer risk: holders rely on TG Commodities and its Swiss custodian to safeguard and deliver the gold.
- Limited redemption: only verified holders of a full bar's worth can redeem, and delivery is restricted to Switzerland.
- Regulatory risk: the issuer is outside US banking supervision, and rules for tokenized commodities can change.
Tether Gold FAQ
Is XAUT a stablecoin?
It is backed one-to-one by an asset, but that asset is gold, so its dollar price changes with the gold market.
Can I take delivery of my gold?
Only in whole bars, which Tether says requires about 430 XAUT, and delivery is to an address in Switzerland. Smaller holders usually sell on an exchange.
Who checks that the gold exists?
Tether publishes quarterly reserve reports with independent reports by BDO Italia covering the gold held by its custodian.
Sources
- Tether Gold FAQ — Tether Gold
- Reserves Report of XAU₮ — Tether Gold
- Gold Token Terms of Sale and Service — Tether Gold
- Crypto firm Tether and its founders finalizing move to El Salvador — Reuters
Last reviewed October 4, 2026 by The Crypto Guide editorial team. Utility Lens ratings are editorial judgments, not investment advice. Market data from CoinGecko. Spot an error? Request a correction.