- Daily trading volume of tokenized gold reached $1 billion for the first time amid concerns over the US-China trade war.
- The cumulative volume of tokenized gold since the US government shutdown surpassed $10 billion, surpassing the iShares Gold Trust.
- XAUT took center stage in this rally, representing almost 37% of tokenized gold volume in October.
Tokenized gold reached a major milestone this week, with Daily trading volume greater than $1 billion. for the first time. The rise came amid renewed macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from the US government shutdown and escalating trade tension between the US and China, which drove investors towards safe haven assets.
Since the start of the lockdown on October 1, gold prices have risen nearly 10%, driving growth in the tokenized gold markets. During this period, the cumulative trading volume of tokenized gold exceeded 10 billion dollars, already exceeding the activity observed during the entire first quarter of 2025. For context, the sector reached a record $26.7 billion in trading volume in Q3meaning it’s now on track to surpass that milestone in the fourth quarter if current momentum persists.
Tether Gold (XAUT) led the rally, accounting for almost 37% of tokenized gold volume in October, versus 27% in the third quarter of 2025, while its number of holders grew more 12%surpassing PAXG.
Increased activity in October also helped tokenized gold. outperform Blackrock’s iShares Gold Trust (IAU)the world’s second largest gold ETF, which recorded $9.8 billion in volume since the closure. This milestone is due to explosive growth in recent quarters: tokenized gold experienced a 234% increase in trading volume in Q2 2025ranking fourth behind GLDM, then moved up 43% in the third quartersurpassing GLDM and now surpassing IAU.
Today, only SPDR Gold Stock (GLD)With over $80 billion in trading volume, it remains in the lead, underscoring how quickly tokenized gold is closing the gap with traditional ETFs and establishing itself as a mainstream investment vehicle.
Notably, all of this trading activity is carried out from a relatively small market base. While GLD and IAU have market capitalizations of nearly $125 billion and $60 billion respectively, the market capitalization of tokenized gold sits just above $3 billion. Despite its smaller size, Tokenized gold is trading at a much faster rate than major ETFs and even altcoins.. Current volume to market cap relationships show that tokenized gold is in 34%compared to GLD at 5.6% and IAU at 1.5%, highlighting how actively gold-backed cryptocurrencies are being bought and sold relative to their size.
This sharp rise builds on trends seen in the second quarter of 2025, when tokenized gold broke out of traditional ETF patterns. The increase reflects how tokenized gold is. It is used not only as a store of value but also as an active utility asset. within the crypto ecosystem. Investors appear attracted to its accessibility and ability to respond quickly to macroeconomic shocks, including tariff uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
Final thoughts
Tokenized gold is quickly carving out its place in the broader gold investment landscape. While traditional investment vehicles like GLD continue to dominate in size and recognition, tokenized gold is building an on-chain parallel market driven by retail and crypto-native investors. With macroeconomic uncertainty fueling demand, the tokenized gold sector could be poised to challenge the traditional hierarchy sooner than many expect.
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