Digital Gold

Gold

Tether launched Scudo, a fractional unit representing one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, through its <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/xaut" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XAUT</a> token as institutional investors and central banks accumulated the precious metal at record levels. The stablecoin issuer announced the development on Tuesday, creating a smaller denomination comparable to satoshis in <a href="https://yellow.com/asset/btc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a>.
<h2 id="what-happened-digital-gold-division">What Happened: Digital Gold Division</h2>
Tether <a href="https://tether.io/news/tether-introduces-scudo-redefining-fractional-gold-ownership-onchain/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">introduced</a> Scudo as a unit of account corresponding to 1/1,000 of an XAUT token, which is backed by more than 1,300 gold bars held in custody.
XAUT currently maintains a market capitalization of approximately $2.3 billion, according to the company.
The new unit addresses traditional barriers to gold ownership, including storage, custody and divisibility challenges that have historically constrained direct access to the precious metal.
Scudo builds on <a href="https://yellow.com/news/tethers-xaut-token-capitalizes-on-dollar3400-gold-prices-as-banks-accumulate-1000-tons-annually" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XAUT's existing tokenization framework</a> by enabling smaller onchain transactions backed by physical gold.
Also Read: <a href="https://yellow.com/news/can-bitcoin-break-dollar97k-with-dollar1b-in-stablecoin-reserves-available-on-binance" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Can Bitcoin Break $97K With $1B In Stablecoin Reserves Available On Binance?</a>
<h2 id="why-it-matters-market-timing">Why It Matters: Market Timing</h2>
Paolo Ardoino, Tether's chief executive, described gold as "the ultimate store of value alongside Bitcoin" in a social media post comparing Scudo to satoshis following a record-breaking year for bullion prices that climbed above $4,550 per troy ounce.
Precious metals posted a record year in 2025, with gold prices rising roughly 65% amid renewed de-dollarization efforts, aggressive central bank purchases and persistent inflation concerns among investors.
Silver prices climbed more than 140% during the year to reach about $80 per troy ounce.
Economist <a href="https://yellow.com/news/peter-schiff-predicts-four-worse-years-for-bitcoin-as-gold-hits-record-highs" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Peter Schiff described the surge as a sign</a> that investors are bracing for what he called "the greatest inflation in US history," even as recent Consumer Price Index readings pointed to moderating inflation trends, and <a href="https://yellow.com/research/gold-vs-bitcoin-in-2025-how-the-dollar25t-crash-changed-safe-haven-assets" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">gold's advance highlighted a divergence with Bitcoin</a>, which finished the year lower and showed limited evidence of safe-haven demand.
Read Next: <a href="https://yellow.com/news/does-venezuela-hold-600k-bitcoin-worth-dollar56b-evidence-remains-elusive" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Does Venezuela Hold 600K Bitcoin Worth $56B? Evidence Remains Elusive</a>

Tether Launches Scudo, Satoshi-Inspired Fractional Gold Unit Amid Record Price Rally

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Other articles published on Jan 7, 2026

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