Tether is expanding how investors access tokenized gold. The company has launched a new accounting unit called Scudo for its XAUT gold-backed token at a time when global demand for precious metals is rising to historic levels.
Each Scudo represents one-thousandth of a troy ounce of physical gold. In practical terms, one Scudo equals 1/1,000 of one XAUT token. XAUT itself is backed by more than 1,300 gold bars held in custody, supporting a market capitalization of roughly 2.3 billion dollars.
Making fractional gold ownership easier
Tether says Scudo is designed to remove long-standing barriers tied to owning physical gold. Traditional gold ownership usually comes with storage, custody, and divisibility issues. By placing fractional units on the blockchain, Scudo aims to make it easier for investors to buy, hold, and transact in smaller increments.
Rather than treating gold only as a long-term store of value, the company wants to make it more practical inside digital financial systems.
Gold and Bitcoin as value anchors
CEO Paolo Ardoino called gold the “ultimate store of value” alongside Bitcoin. His comments followed a record year for bullion, with gold prices climbing above 4,550 dollars per troy ounce.
Ardoino compared Scudo to satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. Just as satoshis make Bitcoin easier to use in everyday transactions, Scudo is meant to give investors smaller, readable units of tokenized gold.
Historic rally across precious metals
Precious metals surged throughout 2025. Gold gained roughly 65 percent, fueled by de-dollarization, aggressive central bank buying, and persistent inflation concerns. Silver climbed more than 140 percent, reaching about 80 dollars per troy ounce.
Economist Peter Schiff said the move reflects investors preparing for what he calls the greatest inflation in U.S. history, even as CPI reports show easing inflation pressure. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ended the year lower, showing limited evidence of safe-haven demand.
Tokenized gold demand accelerates
The final quarter of the year brought even more attention to tokenized gold as markets absorbed the impact of the October 10 deleveraging event. Investors shifted toward assets perceived as safer, pushing tokenized gold market caps toward late 2025 highs.
With Scudo, Tether is positioning XAUT not only as storage of wealth, but as a more flexible, transactable form of gold across blockchain networks.
