Tether acquired a 12% stake in Gold.com in a $150M strategic investment

Tether, a stablecoin issuer, has acquired a 12% ownership position in Gold.com for $150 million, which will strengthen its expansion into the tokenized gold ecosystem.

The investment will form a long-term partnership to integrate XAU₮, Tether's gold-backed digital asset, into Gold.com's distribution channels and explore new on-ramps connecting physical gold and digital currencies.

The announcement comes after gold recently rallied to more than $5,500 an ounce before recapturing nearly 15% at the end of January, trading around $4,700 at press time.

The gold-backed stablecoin market has tripled in the past year to $5.5 billion, with XAU₮ now holding more than 60% market share and $2.4 billion in circulation, giving PaxGen the top spot in the category.

According to Tether, XAU₮ is fully backed by physical gold held in a secure repository with daily credentials and gifts in accordance with El Salvador's digital asset issuance law. Each token represents one fine troy ounce linked to a London fine delivery bar, containing a total of 140 tonnes of gold.

CEO Paolo Arduino emphasized that the move reflects long-term strategy and not speculation.

“Gold exposure is not about trading Tether; it's about hedging and long-term allocations to protect our user base and ourselves in an increasingly stable world,” he said. “XAU₮ was built with that principle in mind, combining the resilience of gold with the efficiency of blockchain-based settlement.”

The partnership provides access to gold in real-world retail and institutional contexts, bridging Tether's push into crypto-native and traditional finance.

The firms are studying USD₮ and USA₮, Tether's flagship and newly regulated dollar-backed stablecoins, for gold purchases.