Is Tether's gold token XAUT worth buying?

Author: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily

2026, Survival is King.
In the previous article “2026, Keep Going: A Bear Market Survival and Counterattack Manual for Crypto Enthusiasts,” we systematically outlined this year’s “survival strategies,” emphasizing asset allocation in precious metals like gold. For those aiming to hedge against inflation, fiat currency devaluation, and US dollar depreciation, how to allocate gold-related assets has become the next challenge.
In this regard, based on my personal understanding, XAUT issued by Tether may be the best way for crypto enthusiasts to allocate gold assets. Coupled with Tether’s recent launch of a new accounting unit “Scudo” for Tether Gold (XAU₮), the threshold for gold token allocation has sharply dropped to just a few dollars.
This article will analyze whether “XAUT is worth including in your portfolio.”
Potential support for gold prices rising: US policies, ETF inflows, bank ratings
Last September, when spot gold prices hovered around $3,400-3,500, we systematically introduced five major gold tokens in the article “Gold Price Expected to Continue Surging to $3,900/oz,” with XAUT among them. Looking back three months later, the spot gold price once surged to around $4,550 per ounce, which is truly astonishing.

Moreover, despite recent price corrections, the upward momentum of spot gold has not been significantly broken. Specifically, the support for gold prices comes from the following factors:
World Gold Council: US Supreme Court tariff decisions and three other factors only cause short-term fluctuations in gold prices
The World Gold Council released a report stating that the surge in precious metals (including silver and platinum) in December and the rebalancing of the commodity index could trigger short-term market volatility. However, aside from short-term fluctuations, gold is expected to continue its intrinsic logic. The upcoming US Supreme Court ruling on tariff policies could significantly impact US trade policies. This impact on gold may be more complex but could serve as potential support. Lastly, ongoing geopolitical conflicts (recent US actions in Venezuela are a recent example) also support gold prices.
In 2025, gold prices hit a record 53 times, with unprecedented ETF inflows
The World Gold Council states that with gold prices hitting a record 53 times in 2025, global investors injected unprecedented funds into gold ETFs. North American funds contributed the majority of the global inflows. Meanwhile, gold holdings in Asia nearly doubled, and Europe also showed significant demand.
Gold in 2025 rose about 65% overall, hitting over 50 new highs, silver up about 150%
The precious metals market in 2025 shows that on December 31, spot gold closed down 0.46% at $4,318.65 per ounce. Against the backdrop of de-dollarization worldwide, the Fed restarting rate cuts, and central banks continuing gold purchases, gold became the most dazzling “star asset” of 2025. Its rally persisted throughout the year, with an overall increase of about 65%, reaching a historic high of $4,549.96 per ounce, and over 50 new highs during the year.
UBS Group: Raises gold target prices for March, June, and September 2026 to $5,000 per ounce
UBS maintains a bullish stance and has raised the target prices for gold in March, June, and September 2026 to $5,000 per ounce (previously $4,500). It is expected that by the end of 2026, gold prices will slightly decline to $4,800 per ounce.
Based on the above information, gold is expected to remain promising over the next year. Now, let’s discuss why Tether’s gold token XAUT is worth allocating.

Four major advantages of XAUT allocation: high market cap, low threshold, good liquidity, and leverage potential
First, supported by Tether’s strong financial backing, XAUT’s gold reserves, and ample liquidity.
In early the month, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that Tether purchased 8,888 Bitcoin on New Year’s Eve 2025, worth about $780 million. This transaction brought Tether’s publicly held Bitcoin to over 96,000 coins. Tether currently distributes 15% of its quarterly profits to Bitcoin holdings. Additionally, in Q3 2025, Tether bought 26 tons of gold, bringing its total gold holdings to 116 tons, ranking among the top 30 global gold holders. The market cap of around $2.3 billion also demonstrates sufficient liquidity for XAUT.
Second, Tether recently launched a new accounting unit “Scudo” for XAUT.
According to official sources, Tether officially introduced the new valuation unit Scudo for Tether Gold (XAUT). This unit aims to re-establish gold as a means of payment, with 1 Scudo defined as one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold or one-thousandth of an XAUT (about $4.4). This move simplifies the pricing process by addressing the issue of long decimal places during transactions or pricing, making gold more practical in daily economic activities. Tether Gold is currently fully backed by physical gold stored in secure vaults. The launch of Scudo does not change the structure or backing of XAUT.
Third, XAUT is listed on major CEX and DEX platforms, supporting spot trading and leveraged contracts.
According to Coingecko, XAUT is supported for trading on CEX platforms like Bybit, OKX, Bitget, and on DEX platforms like Uniswap, Fluid, Curve.

Finally, Tether’s dominant position in the stablecoin sector and its highly profitable business operations provide strong support for XAUT’s growth. Industry adoption is expected to further increase in 2026.
According to Bloomberg citing Artemis Analytics data, in 2025, global stablecoin trading volume surged 72 year-over-year to a record $33 trillion, with Circle’s USDC accounting for $18.3 trillion and Tether’s USDT at $13.3 trillion, both maintaining high levels. Together, they dominate most stablecoin trading activity.
Considering the continuous decline of the USD/CNY exchange rate, for most ordinary people with limited liquidity and lower risk appetite, converting some fiat currency into gold tokens like XAUT might be a better option.