Tether launched XAU₮ on BNB Chain and Binance, expanding its 60% share of the gold market with a $4b token across 12+ networks through the USDt0 cross-chain system.
Summary
- The gold-backed Tether token XAU₮ is now live on BNB Chain, bringing the product to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and expanding its cross-chain reach to over 12 blockchains via the USDt0 network.
- The gold-backed stablecoin market has grown from about 1.3 billion to more than 4 billion by 2025, with XAU₮ controlling about 60% of the total.
- Binance simultaneously listed XAUt on March 26, offering spot trading, 1–50x USDT perpetual contracts, VIP lending, and one-click purchases by card and mobile payment.
Tether on March 26 announced that Tether Gold (XAU₮) is now live on the BNB Chain, placing a tokenized gold product directly on the system of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and hundreds of millions of users. Each XAU₮ token represents one troy ounce of physical gold – London Good Delivery standard – stored in Swiss vaults and independently proven 1:1.
The launch is overdue in a market that has moved heavily in favor of the benchmark gold. Gold is up 64% by 2025 – its biggest annual gain in 40 years – setting a high of more than 50 as global tensions and trade uncertainty drive investors to safe-haven assets. The gold-backed stablecoin market nearly tripled in the same period, rising from about $1.3 billion to over $4 billion, with XAU₮ holding nearly 60% of the total.
BNB Chain deployment is supported by Tether’s USDt0 cross-chain network, which gives XAU₮ aggregated liquidity across all 12 blockchains. The facilities are designed to improve the efficiency of issuance, transfer, and billing, and eliminate the need for users to navigate traditional custodial customs, related premiums, or payment delays associated with physical gold markets.
What Tether and BNB Chain executives say
“With XAU₮, we are not changing what gold is; we are making it usable in the modern financial system,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, in an official announcement. “You still have direct exposure to physical gold, but now it’s mobile, globally stable, and seamlessly integrated with digital markets. Listing on the BNB Chain extends that reach to hundreds of millions of users, bringing gold into the system where it can actually be used, not just held.”
Nina Rong, Senior Director of Growth at BNB Chain, added: “XAU₮ on BNB Chain expands what is already the second largest RWA ecosystem with TVL. It provides users with a trusted, gold-backed asset that they can use throughout DeFi without friction.”
BNB Chain doubles down on real world assets
The deployment of Tether Gold deepens BNB Chain’s position in real-world tokenized assets. As reported in a previous crypto.news story, the network’s RWA value increased by 555% year-on-year in Q4 2024, making it the second largest RWA blockchain after Ethereum. The addition of XAU₮ — already the largest gold-backed token by market cap — strengthens that trajectory as institutions accelerate adoption of the tokenized asset.
XAU₮ is issued by TG Commodities, SA de CV, a Digital Asset Service Provider registered under the Digital Commodity Issuance Law of El Salvador. Storage details and proof-of-vault reports are publicly available at gold.tether.to. Binance re-listed XAUt on March 26 with perpetual futures, dynamic trading pairs, and primarily hedged derivatives – although the launch was delayed for a while from 21:30 to 22:00 UTC+8.
The move follows Tether’s January launch of the Scudo, a fractional unit of XAU₮ equal to one thousandth of a troy ounce, described in a previous crypto.news story, which was intended to make the token gold work for everyday on-chain payments and transactions.
