Tether Gold (XAUT) is a gold-backed token from Tether, each token representing one fine troy ounce of physical gold held in a Swiss vault and assigned to a specific bar. It is the second-largest tokenized gold product behind PAX Gold and is redeemable, subject to minimums, for the underlying bullion. XAUT scores 83/100 (Tier 1) on the RWTS Trust Score: full allocated backing and a clear bar-level claim, held below PAXG by lighter regulatory oversight and disclosure from its issuer. It pays no native yield; the return tracks the gold price.
- Issuer / protocol
- Tether
- Backing
- 1 troy oz fine gold (Swiss vaults)
- Redemption / lock-up
- None
- Audit & proof of reserves
- Independently audited
- Availability
- Global
- Chain
- Ethereum
- Tier
- Tier 1 — Physically-Backed RWA
- Contract
- 0x6874…5f3d
Scored on the published RWTS methodology (v1.1), reviewed quarterly and on material events. Ratings are independent and never pay-influenced.
XAUT is one troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold per token, vaulted in Switzerland by TG Commodities (a Tether subsidiary). Price tracks spot gold one-for-one minus a small custody fee, so all the standard gold drivers apply — real rates, USD, central bank flow. The XAUT-specific factor is the issuer-trust premium relative to NYDFS-regulated alternatives like PAXG. XAUT historically trades at a small persistent discount that widens during stress events touching the Tether ecosystem and narrows when the broader USDT trust picture is benign. Liquidity is concentrated on Bitfinex and a handful of CEXs; redemption is gated by the 50oz Good Delivery bar threshold (already documented as a flag on the rating).
The same gold tailwind from central bank reserve diversification benefits XAUT, but the regulatory and institutional flow story diverges sharply from PAXG. US allocators broadly cannot hold XAUT for compliance reasons; offshore allocators (Asian family offices, EM treasuries, certain crypto-native funds) can and do. As long as the Tether ecosystem remains operationally clean, the XAUT discount to PAXG is a structural carry trade for unconstrained capital. The discount widens at any USDT-related stress event — a feature for buyers of the dip, a risk for fully-loaded longs.
- ›All KAU/PAXG watchlist items (real rates, CB flow, DXY, ETF flows)
- ›XAUT/PAXG price spread — widening = USDT trust deteriorating
- ›Tether quarterly attestations (BDO) — XAUT operational status
- ›Bitfinex XAUT order book depth — primary liquidity venue
- ›EU MiCA compliance posture from Tether — could reshape XAUT distribution
- ×Material USDT incident that contaminates XAUT trust by association
- ×Loss of Swiss vaulting arrangement or independent attestation provider
- ×Regulated competitor wrapper (PAXG, future BNY/State Street tokens) capturing the offshore institutional flow XAUT currently owns
Editorial macro context · refreshed each methodology cycle · not investment advice
Calculations are indicative. Actual yields may vary.
Price data from CoinGecko. Not financial advice.
Projections assume constant APY of 0.00%. Actual returns may vary. Not financial advice.
Allocated gold; less regulated than PAXG; held in Swiss vaults.
Methodology v1.0 · independent rating · published rubric · no issuer payments
1 troy oz fine gold per token, allocated and held in Swiss vaults.
Quarterly attestation by BDO Italia; per-token gold serial-number lookup tool published on tether.to; no Chainlink-equivalent on-chain PoR feed identified.
Direct physical gold delivery available above 50oz threshold; below threshold, redemption is to fiat at par via partner exchanges.
Simple ERC-20 token contract; multiple security reviews via Tether ecosystem; no formal public bug bounty for the gold product specifically.
Tether registered in BVI; subject to historical NYAG settlement; partially regulated, registered entity, clear legal structure but no top-tier US regulator.
Live since January 2020, 5+ years of operation, no material incident affecting XAUT specifically.
REDEMPTION_THRESHOLD_50OZDirect physical gold redemption requires 50oz minimum; below threshold redemption is to fiat at par.
Caveats document operational realities that don't change the dimensional score but shape practical use.
Beyond XAUT's own score, two structural questions matter: what is it built on, and what has broken before in this part of the market. A high score in isolation can still carry hidden, shared exposure.
What this and similar assets are built on, and where contagion could spread.
The depegs, defaults, and exploits that inform the Track Record dimension.
Liquidity read: TVL of $2.54B indicates deep on-chain liquidity. Lock-up: None.