Gold-backed cryptocurrencies have recorded significant price increases amid the backdrop of escalating global trade wars, following President Donald Trump's implementation of new tariffs on April 2.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) both reached historical peaks on April 22, with XAUT hitting $3,529 and PAXG reaching $3,520. Two other cryptocurrencies pegged to gold — Quorium (QGOLD) and Kinesis Gold (KAU) — also recorded increases of 8.5% and 7.6% respectively over the past 30 days. All four of these tokens have risen more than 40% over the past 12 months.
According to a report from Tether, the surge in demand for XAUT is mainly driven by macroeconomic factors such as increasing global instability, escalating geopolitical conflicts, and a growing demand for inflation-hedging assets.
Since President Trump reignited the trade war, gold prices have surged. On April 2, referred to by Trump as 'Liberation Day' when the new tariffs were announced, the gold price was at $3,115 per ounce. By April 28, the price had risen to $3,335 per ounce, reflecting a 7% increase in less than a month. Domestically, the SJC gold price has also reached nearly 120 million VND per tael.
Gold has long been seen as a safe-haven asset during times of economic turmoil, and Bitcoin — often referred to as 'digital gold' — is no exception to this trend, with a 14% increase during the same period.
The real asset market (RWA) is booming
The market for tokenizing real assets (RWA) — bringing assets like precious metals, bonds, and real estate onto the blockchain — is witnessing strong growth. According to data from RWA.xyz, the total market capitalization of RWA (excluding stablecoins) has reached $21.6 billion, an increase of 8.6% over the past 30 days.
Tether Gold and Paxos Gold are two prime examples of tokenizing real assets. Each token from these two projects corresponds to one ounce of physical gold. Tether states that they store gold in Switzerland, while Paxos keeps gold in London. By 2025, gold tokens had become one of the most prominent use cases in the cryptocurrency market, with transaction volumes reaching a two-year peak on April 10.
Tokenizing gold offers several advantages over traditional investment vehicles like gold ETFs. Specifically, transactions occur instantly, allowing for faster and more flexible trading. Moreover, some gold tokens can be used for purchasing goods and services, rather than just being converted to fiat currency like traditional investment products.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investors should conduct thorough research before making decisions. We are not responsible for your investment decisions.
