Tether Operations Limited has launched a new unit of account called Scudo for its gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAUT). The initiative is designed to make fractional gold ownership more practical for pricing, transferring, and using in everyday economic activities.
One Scudo represents one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, creating a smaller, more intuitive denomination for XAUT. This approach mirrors Bitcoin's use of satoshis, aiming to solve the "decimal problem" that has hindered gold's usability as a medium of exchange in the digital age. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated, "Gold is once again proving its role as the ultimate store of value alongside Bitcoin," adding that Scudo lowers barriers by making gold easier to own, price, and transact.
The technical rollout is a backward-compatible upgrade on the Ethereum and Tron blockchains, requiring no action from existing XAUT holders. The underlying asset backing remains unchanged, with each XAUT token still representing one troy ounce of physical gold held in Swiss vaults.
The launch comes as global gold prices and demand sit at record highs, driven by inflation concerns, interest-rate uncertainty, and aggressive central bank buying. Tether Gold's market capitalization had doubled by December 2025, reflecting growing demand for digital gold exposure. The Scudo unit is part of Tether's broader strategy to modernize access to legacy assets through blockchain technology, enhancing gold's divisibility, transparency, and utility in a digital-first economy.
