Tether Gold has gained commodity status in Abu Dhabi, as DefiLlama data shows XAUT’s locked value has climbed more than threefold to about $2.86 billion over the past year.
Summary
- ADGM recognized Tether Gold as an Accepted Spot Commodity for approved regulated firms.
- XAUT’s locked value more than tripled over the past year to $2.86 billion.
- Tether is expanding across tokenized gold, US payroll payments and Latin American banking.
Abu Dhabi Global Market has recognized XAUT as an Accepted Spot Commodity, allowing regulated firms in the international financial center to provide services involving the tokenized gold asset when they hold the required permissions.
Under the designation, eligible companies can add XAUT-related products to their regulated offerings inside ADGM. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino described the decision as a clearer route for approved firms seeking to support the asset, while ADGM linked the addition to an expanded selection of products available within the financial center.
The decision follows ADGM’s earlier recognition of Tether’s USDT as an Accepted Fiat Referenced Token. With both assets now accepted under separate regulatory categories, Tether can place its dollar stablecoin and gold-backed token within one of the Middle East’s largest international financial centers.
ADGM’s treatment of XAUT applies only to firms that secure the relevant regulatory approvals. The designation does not give every company operating in the financial center automatic permission to offer trading, custody or other XAUT services.
Tokenized gold demand has lifted XAUT’s locked value
DefiLlama figures show that Tether Gold’s total value locked has risen from approximately $826 million to $2.86 billion within a year. Based on those figures, the increase amounts to about 246%, placing XAUT among the largest products in the tokenized commodity market.
RWA.xyz estimates that tokenized commodities hold about $4.46 billion in distributed value. The data platform places the full tokenized real-world asset market at roughly $34.73 billion, giving commodities a share of nearly 13%.
Against those figures, XAUT’s reported $2.86 billion in locked value represents a substantial portion of the commodity category tracked by RWA.xyz. Differences between TVL and distributed-value methods mean the two datasets are not directly interchangeable, but both indicate that gold-backed tokens account for a large share of commodity tokenization.
Use cases for XAUT are also moving beyond spot trading and custody. Bitcoin lending platform Ledn announced in June that it plans to accept the token as loan collateral later this year, which would let customers borrow against tokenized gold without selling their holdings.
Ledn’s planned integration would place XAUT inside a crypto-backed lending product, adding a borrowing function to an asset mainly used for gold exposure. The company has not yet disclosed detailed terms such as loan-to-value ratios, interest rates or the exact launch date.
For regulated firms in ADGM, the new status could make similar services possible when their licenses cover the relevant activity. ADGM’s announcement, however, did not identify which firms intend to add XAUT or set a timeline for the first regulated offerings.
Tether is extending its reach across payments and finance
Beyond tokenized gold, Tether has continued investing in payment systems and financial platforms. Last week, crypto.news reported that the company led a $7 million Series A round for Pact Labs alongside Blockchange Ventures and Lasagna.
According to crypto.news, the financing will support Pact Labs’ payroll and payment infrastructure while helping businesses adopt USAT, Tether’s dollar-backed stablecoin designed for the US market. The partnership focuses on wage payments rather than crypto trading, targeting a US payroll sector that processes more than $11 trillion each year.
Another investment has extended Tether’s presence in Latin American finance. Bloomberg reported that the company contributed $20 million to a $197 million equity round for Argentine digital bank Ualá, adding the platform to Tether’s portfolio of stablecoin-related investments.
Ualá announced the round in March and identified Tether among the participants, though it did not disclose the issuer’s contribution at the time. Allianz X led the financing, while Bloomberg later reported the size of Tether’s individual investment.
These investments come as Tether faces questions over USDT’s future availability on US crypto platforms. CoinDesk reported that the first anniversary of the GENIUS Act has renewed attention on whether the foreign-issued stablecoin can meet the law’s requirements before its transition period ends.
President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act into law one year ago, introducing a three-year compliance window. CoinDesk reported that uncertainty remains over how some deadlines will apply to foreign issuers such as Tether.
Circle has taken steps to align its operations with the incoming US framework, according to the report, while Tether has not publicly explained how it plans to bring USDT into full compliance.
The ADGM recognition gives XAUT a defined regulatory route in Abu Dhabi while Tether develops separate products and investments across gold, payroll and digital banking. USDT’s position in the United States, however, will depend on how regulators implement the GENIUS Act and whether Tether satisfies the final requirements.
