A quiet shift is underway. Gold is moving onchain — and faster than expected.

At the start of the year, the tokenized commodities market stood near $4 billion. In less than six weeks, nearly $2 billion in value has been added. Data from Token Terminal shows that almost all of this growth is coming from gold-backed products.

Gold Tokens Are Driving The Market

The numbers are hard to ignore. Tether’s gold-backed token Tether Gold (XAUt) has been the largest contributor, with its market cap rising 51.6% over the past month to $3.6 billion. Paxos-listed PAX Gold (PAXG) climbed 33.2% over the same period, reaching $2.3 billion.

Together, these two products now represent more than 95% of the entire tokenized commodities market.

On a year-over-year basis, tokenized commodities are up 360%. Since the start of 2026, growth in this segment has outpaced tokenized stocks and tokenized funds, which posted gains of 42% and just 3.6%, respectively.

In comparison, the tokenized commodities market — now at roughly $6.1 billion — stands at just over one-third the size of the $17.2 billion tokenized funds market. Tokenized stocks, meanwhile, sit at only $538 million.

Tether Deepens Its Gold Strategy

This surge isn’t happening in isolation. Tether recently expanded its tokenized commodities strategy by acquiring a $150 million stake in precious metals platform Gold.com, aiming to broaden access to tokenized gold.

The company said its XAUt token will be integrated into Gold.com’s platform and that it is exploring options to allow customers to purchase physical gold using USDT.

In other words, Tether isn’t just issuing digital gold — it’s working to bridge onchain assets with the physical world.

Gold Accelerates While Bitcoin Lags

The rise in tokenized gold follows a powerful rally in spot gold prices.

Gold has gained more than 80% over the past year, reaching a new all-time high of $5,600 on Jan. 29. After a brief pullback to around $4,700 earlier this month, prices rebounded to roughly $5,050 at the time of writing.

Crypto markets have told a different story. A sharp selloff in mid-October triggered roughly $19 billion in liquidations. Bitcoin dropped more than 52% from its early October peak, briefly touching $60,000 before rebounding — but it remains below $70,000.

This divergence hasn’t gone unnoticed. Strike CEO Jack Mallers suggested Bitcoin is still being treated like a software stock rather than hard money. Grayscale echoed that view, noting that Bitcoin’s long-standing “digital gold” narrative is being tested, with recent price action resembling that of a high-risk growth asset.

When Gold Goes Onchain, The Balance Shifts

Capital is quietly rotating. The rapid expansion of tokenized commodities isn’t just another crypto trend. It looks more like an early signal that traditional safe-haven assets are beginning to migrate onto blockchain rails.

Bitcoin may be lagging for now. But gold — both physical and digital — is back in focus.

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What Happened on the First Day of TOKEN2049?

Maelstrom Launches Private Equity Arm: “Maelstrom Equity”

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, used the stage at TOKEN2049 to unveil a new division under his family office: Maelstrom Equity. For the first time, the firm will accept external institutional capital, targeting both majority and minority stakes in crypto and crypto-adjacent companies.

With a focus on businesses facing liquidity challenges or those primed for transformational growth, Maelstrom is expanding beyond venture and liquid markets into buyouts and growth equity. This move positions the firm to play a pivotal role in reshaping mature verticals within the crypto ecosystem.

KuCoin Rebrands With a New Identity: “Trust First. Trade Next.”

Global exchange KuCoin introduced its refreshed brand identity at TOKEN2049, centered around the principle “Trust First. Trade Next.”

Originally launched in 2017 as “the crypto exchange for everyone,” KuCoin now positions itself as “the crypto partner you can trust.” The updated visual identity reflects its core ethos of security, transparency, and accessibility, aiming to reinforce trust during periods of market volatility while strengthening its global appeal.

MEXC Ventures Commits $30M to Ethena’s ENA

Another key headline from Day One came from MEXC Ventures, which announced its second strategic investment in ENA, the governance token of the Ethena protocol. This brings its total commitment to $30 million.

When combined with a previous $16 million investment and a $20 million USDe acquisition, MEXC’s total exposure to the Ethena ecosystem now stands at $66 million. According to Cecilia Hsueh, Chief Strategy Officer at MEXC, the firm’s approach extends far beyond capital deployment, aiming to integrate operational synergies and project-level support to accelerate ecosystem growth.

Tether Gold (XAUt) Goes Live on Celo

Tether Gold (XAUt) has officially launched on the Celo network, expanding access to tokenized gold across more than 150 countries.

The addition complements Celo’s existing integration of USDT, which has already been used in over 119 million transactions as a gas currency. With XAUt now live, users within the Celo ecosystem gain seamless access to one of the oldest stores of value, bridging traditional assets with blockchain infrastructure.

Celo Introduces Nightfall Privacy Layer for Enterprise Payments

The Celo Foundation also announced the deployment of Nightfall, an open-source zero-knowledge privacy layer built by EY. Now live as a Layer 3 on Celo, Nightfall represents the first time a payments-focused blockchain has adopted this technology.

Nightfall leverages ZK proofs and ZK-ZK rollups to deliver private, auditable transactions at a fraction of traditional costs. The solution is designed for B2B payments, supply chain finance, and other enterprise use cases where confidentiality and efficiency are mission-critical.

A Strong Start to a Landmark Event!

Even on its first day, TOKEN2049 demonstrated why it remains the epicenter of the crypto world. From major equity announcements and rebranding strategies to significant investments and technical innovations, the event is shaping the conversation around both the current state and future trajectory of digital assets.

As the week continues, participants can expect even more high-profile panels, product launches, and strategic collaborations. TOKEN2049 has once again proven to be more than just a conference—it is where the next chapter of the crypto industry is written.

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