Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, is collaborating with Antalpha to raise at least $200 million for a new digital asset treasury focused on tokenized gold. This initiative, spearheaded by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, aims to diversify Tether's reserves beyond US Treasuries and Bitcoin, marking a strategic shift in their asset allocation.
The planned vehicle will stockpile Tether Gold (XAUT), a blockchain-based token backed by physical gold bars stored in a Swiss vault. XAUT is the largest tokenized gold offering with a market capitalization of nearly $1.5 billion. This expansion follows an earlier partnership announcement on Monday to launch a dedicated hub for XAUT-backed lending, custody, and redemption services, with Antalpha planning to open vaults in major financial hubs to facilitate physical gold redemptions.
As of Tether's June attestation, the company held $8.7 billion in gold on its balance sheet, underscoring its commitment to hard assets. The move aligns with growing institutional interest in real-world asset tokenization, though it may attract regulatory scrutiny from the SEC. Analysts note that this diversification could enhance Tether's gold-backed stablecoin strategy without directly impacting the USDT dollar peg.
