Tether Gold launched on January 23, 2020, issued by TG Commodities Limited — a subsidiary of Tether Limited (the same corporate group behind USDT and, indirectly, LEO). Each XAUt token represents one fine troy ounce (roughly 31.1035 grams) of physical gold, held as allocated (not pooled) London Good Delivery-standard bars in Swiss vaults.
-
The token is divisible to six decimal places, significantly lowering the entry barrier for individual investors seeking gold exposure.
-
2020: becomes available on multiple platforms (LCX, FinchPay.io, ONUSFinance), expanding accessibility.
-
No custody fee; a 25-basis-point fee applies on redemption, plus delivery costs for physical delivery.
-
Available as both an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and a TRC-20 token on TRON.
Important distinction from dollar stablecoins (USDT, USDC): XAUt does NOT hold a $1 peg — it tracks the price of gold instead, meaning it can fluctuate significantly, just not according to crypto-market volatility but rather global gold market movements.