Tether Brings Tokenized Gold XAUT to Ledn to Enable Gold-Backed Crypto Lending

Tether has expanded the use of its massive gold holdings by bringing its tokenized gold product XAUT to crypto lender Ledn. Ledn is adding support for XAUT alongside bitcoin and USDT, with borrowing against XAUT expected to launch later this year.

Each XAUT token represents one troy ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults. Tether holds around $23 billion worth of bullion backing the product making it one of the world’s largest corporate gold holders with approximately 140 metric tons of physical bullion accumulated over recent years.

The Idea — Use Gold Like Bitcoin Without Selling It

The model mirrors what Ledn has been doing with bitcoin-backed loans for years. Holders put up their XAUT as collateral and borrow against it without having to sell the underlying asset. Client collateral is held 1:1 and is not lent out or used to generate yield a structure Ledn is emphasizing to draw a clear line between itself and the crypto lenders that collapsed in 2022.

Gold-backed lending has traditionally been the territory of central banks, major financial institutions and bullion dealers. Tether and Ledn are arguing that tokenization changes that equation, turning physical gold into digital collateral that can unlock liquidity the same way bitcoin does.

“As digital assets become an increasingly important part of the global economy, demand is growing for solutions that combine long-term ownership with financial flexibility,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said.

Part of a Much Bigger Tether Pivot

The XAUT lending move is the latest step in Tether’s strategy to leverage USDT profits and expand well beyond stablecoins. The company has been building out a broader technology and infrastructure group spanning finance, energy and AI. On the gold side it has also invested in precious metals marketplace Gold.com and partnered with crypto financing firm Antalpha to expand XAUT’s use in lending and physical redemption.