Tether Gold

Our assessment

Tether Gold holds $3.09bn across eight chains, with each token representing allocated physical gold held in Swiss vaults. It is the largest tokenised gold product and one of the few real-world-asset tokens with a genuinely simple structure.

Allocated gold is a specific legal claim

Allocated means identified bars assigned to holders rather than an unsecured claim against a pool. In a custodian insolvency, allocated metal is not part of the estate. That distinction is the entire difference between owning gold and having a claim on someone who owns gold, and it is the right structure for this product.

Tokenised gold solves real problems

Physical gold is hard to store, expensive to insure, and impossible to divide or send. A token moves in seconds, splits to arbitrary precision and can serve as collateral. For anyone who wants gold exposure rather than a gold trading position, this is a materially better instrument than a bar in a safe.

Verification is the open question

The gold's existence depends on custodian attestation and the token holder's redemption rights. No audit report was retrievable at a public address at this check. For a physically backed product, regular independent verification of the holdings is the disclosure that matters most, more than any smart contract review.

Who it suits

Tether Gold fits users wanting gold exposure with on-chain portability who accept custodial and issuer risk. Users wanting gold without counterparty exposure should hold physical metal.