What is Tether Gold Tokens (XAUT0)?

By CMC AI
16 December 2025 03:50PM (UTC+0)

TLDR

Tether Gold Tokens (XAUT0) are an omnichain, gold-backed cryptocurrency designed to unify liquidity across blockchains while maintaining direct ties to physical bullion.

  1. Backed by physical gold – Each XAUt0 token represents ownership of LBMA-certified gold stored in Swiss vaults.

  2. Omnichain interoperability – Built on LayerZero’s OFT standard for seamless cross-chain transfers without wrapped tokens.

  3. DeFi integration – Enables gold to function as a programmable asset in lending, collateral, and multichain strategies.

Deep Dive

1. Physical Gold Backing

Each XAUt0 token is 1:1 backed by Tether Gold (XAUt), which itself represents ownership of one troy ounce of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-accredited gold stored in Swiss vaults (Tether). This ensures direct redeemability for physical bullion, combining the stability of gold with blockchain accessibility.

2. Omnichain Architecture

XAUt0 uses LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, allowing native transfers across blockchains like TON, Solana, and Avalanche without relying on bridges or wrapped tokens. This eliminates fragmentation, reduces fees, and enhances liquidity by unifying gold reserves into a single cross-chain pool (Tether).

3. DeFi Utility

Unlike traditional gold ETFs, XAUt0 integrates with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. It supports use cases like multichain lending, gold-FX arbitrage, and collateralization while maintaining 24/7 accessibility and fractional ownership.

Conclusion

XAUt0 modernizes gold ownership by merging physical asset security with blockchain interoperability, positioning it as a foundational real-world asset (RWA) in DeFi. As it expands to networks like Polygon and Avalanche, will its omnichain design redefine how gold powers decentralized financial systems?

CMC AI can make mistakes. Not financial advice.