Gold Token Frenzy: One Quarter, One Roaring Boom, Infinite Hype

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Spot trading of tokenized gold stood at 90.7 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2026. A single quarter, it would seem, already eclipses the 84.6 billion tallied over all of 2025. The ledger speaks with a blunt tone: abundance masquerading as safety is not a mercy, but a spectacle.

The jump reveals more than speed; it is a stubborn sprint of the real-world asset sector. Crypto traders hunt 24/7 exposure to the golden idol through gold-backed tokens, as though safety could be programmed into a blockchain and delivered with a smile.

Gold Rally Draws Crypto Pilgrims Toward On-Chain Bullion

CoinGecko’s latest RWA report notes that centralized exchanges carried the bulk of spot trading. Yet monthly volumes for tokenized gold have been uneven, echoing the capricious winds that trouble every market and every soul.

October 2025 saw volume spike to $21.38 billion as gold reached fresh record highs, more than tripling the $6.73 billion logged the month prior, before easing back to $14.07 billion in November.

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Notably, spot trading of tokenized gold was largely concentrated in PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT). Over the period, PAXG’s share of monthly volume ranged from 34.2% to 82.5%, while XAUT’s share ranged from 14.8% to 64.6%.

“Over the last fifteen months, PAXG and XAUT saw $5.72 billion and $5.32 billion in average monthly spot trading volume, respectively, while the average total monthly volume stood at $11.69 billion. Meanwhile, KAG averaged $0.57 billion, Tether’s omnichain deployment XAUT0 recorded $0.10 billion, and XAUM just $0.007 billion,” the report read.

This two-product dominance is a pattern that holds across tokenized commodities more broadly. Coingecko noted that the market capitalization of tokenized commodities climbed 289% to $5.55 billion over 15 months.

“Tokenized commodities remain largely dominated by gold-backed tokens – specifically Tether’s XAUT and Paxos’ PAXG, which accounted for 89.1% of the expansion by contributing $1.87 billion and $1.80 billion, respectively. This is in line with the extended rally of the spot gold price over the past year,” Coingecko wrote.

PAXG posted the biggest market share gain, climbing from 36.8% to 41.8% of the category. Its market capitalization increased to $2.32 billion.

XAUT held its lead at $2.52 billion in market capitalization. Its share “round-tripped from 45.4% to 45.5%.” Earlier, the token’s share stood 54.7% in late October 2025.

Smaller precious metals tokens lost ground despite absolute gains. Kinesis Silver (KAG) grew its market cap above $0.35 billion, yet its share fell to 4.8%. Meanwhile, Matrixdock’s XAUM expanded elevenfold to $0.07 billion, raising its share from 0.4% to 1.3%.

The shift reshapes the broader RWA sector. Tokenized commodities now hold 28.7% of the market, while Treasuries’ dominance slipped from 73.7% to 67.2%. The rotation’s longevity will hinge on where bullion prices settle through 2026.

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2026-05-01 08:11