Gold soars to 5100 USD, hitting a new high! The market capitalization of tokenized gold skyrockets, but XAUT's market share drops to 50%

Gold prices break new high of over $5,100 per ounce, driving the market capitalization of tokenized gold up to $5.25 billion. Although XAUT’s market share has fallen to 50%, its reserve scale now rivals that of sovereign nations.

Gold Breaks $5100, Eyes $6000

Gold prices surged past $5,100 per ounce on Monday US time, hitting a new all-time high. This rally mainly reflects the structural rise in global geopolitical risks, including escalating tensions in Greenland, Venezuela, and the Middle East, further strengthening gold’s role as a safe-haven asset.

Regarding the future of gold prices, Societe Generale predicts that gold will reach $6,000 per ounce by the end of this year, emphasizing that this may be a conservative estimate with further upside potential; meanwhile, Morgan Stanley also suggests this rally could continue, with a target of $5,700 per ounce.

Tokenized Gold Market Cap Soars, but XAUT’s Market Share Declines

As gold prices continue to hit new highs, the total market cap of tokenized gold has also reached new records.

According to The Block, the tokenized gold sector expanded rapidly in January. However, despite the overall market growth, the market share of Tether Gold ($XAUT), issued by Tether, has shown a downward trend.

By the end of 2025, $XAUT accounted for 60% of the issuance volume in the tokenized gold market, but after January 2026, as competitors grew and the market expanded, $XAUT’s market share shrank to just above 50%.

Currently, the total market cap of tokenized gold is about $5.25 billion, with XAUT’s market value around $2.6 billion.

Increasing Competition in the Tokenized Gold Market

The decline in $XAUT’s market share reflects growing demand from investors for other gold tokens (such as $PAXG, $KAU).

Nevertheless, $XAUT remains the market leader. An audit report shows that by the end of 2025, Tether held 520,089.350 troy ounces of LBMA-approved delivery gold bars, supporting 520,089.300 $XAUT tokens at a 1:1 ratio. Based on gold prices at that time, the total value of the gold held was approximately $2.25 billion.

Tether’s Large Gold Holdings Rival Sovereign Nations

In terms of circulation and reserves, over 400,920 $XAUT tokens have been sold to market participants, with about 118,700 tokens available for sale.

In Q4 2025, Tether increased its gold exposure by about 27 metric tons, surpassing the amount of gold purchased by most central banks during the same period, demonstrating institutional-level buying power.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that through Tether Gold, the company’s operational scale now rivals that of sovereign gold holders, bringing with it substantial responsibility.

Ardoino believes that, amid waning confidence in the monetary system and ongoing stress tests by institutions and individuals, $XAUT exists to eliminate asset value uncertainty.

As the US dollar remains weak and geopolitical uncertainties persist, physically-backed digital precious metals tokens are gradually becoming an important tool for investors to hedge against overall economic risks.

Further reading:
Gold surges past $5,000! Wall Street analysts debate: Why is “digital gold” Bitcoin still stuck in place?