Tokenized Gold Domination: Two Giants, One Tight Squeeze

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Key Highlights

  • Tokenized gold has strutted past the six-billion-mark in market cap, up 53% in under six weeks, and is backed by more than 1.2 million ounces of real gold-no mere paperweight, this, old man.
  • XAUT and PAXG, the two stubborn chaps at the helm, together commanding roughly 97% of the field, making the scene look as centralized as a club with a single piano and two moustachioed pianists. This sort of concentration invites questions, and not the polite kind.
  • The rush into tokenized gold follows a flamboyant sprint in the price of gold itself, when the metal decided to remind everyone that it remains rather popular at cocktail parties and in vaults alike.

In the grand salon of finance, tokenized gold has elbowed its way into the limelight, swelling the market cap past six billion as investors, like caffeinated cabs on a foggy night, hurry to ride the blockchain express. And yes, it’s risen by a neat 53% in less than six weeks, with enough physical gold backing to give a bullion broker a contented sigh-about 1.2 million ounces, to be precise.

Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) are the two sturdy cads in cahoots here, jointly plotting to control 96.7% of the tokenized gold march. That kind of dominance is not a crime, but it does invite a few stern glances about counterparty risk and custody, as though the trustworthiness of the two chaps keeps the entire drawing-room in order.

Even with 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and a cabal of DeFi tricks, the youngsters behind tokenized gold can’t quite outshine the old reliables-the traditional ETFs and the good old gold itself. The digital darlings may charm, but the bullion still has the weight of a well-thumbed ledger behind it.

While this craze shows blockchain can bring respectable assets into the digital drawing-room, the heavy dependence on Tether and Paxos also throws up a few worrisome shadows. Any hiccup or drift in trust toward these custodians could ripple through the whole six-billion-strong niche. And in the nimble world of DeFi, a small domino can set off a rather dramatic queasy spell across markets.

Tokenized Gold Reserve Rising Past 1 Million Ounces

On-chain analytics tell a similar tale: the total tokenized commodities market, led by gold, has climbed 53% in under six weeks, adding over $2 billion year-to-date and tucking more than 1.2 million ounces of physical gold into vaults backing these tokens.

The surge follows a historic gold-price sprint, where gold leaped from $2,624/oz on January 1 to an eye-popping high of $5,608.35 on January 28, 2026, according to Trading Economics data. A jump worth a round of applause and perhaps a discreet tip of the hat.

The Recent Rally in Gold Price

The market price of gold hovered near the five-thousand-per-ounce mark in January 2026, currently trading around $4,965-up about 7.4% in the past week. A sprint that began in early-2024 has seen the metal gain roughly 140% over the past two years, riding on inflation worries, geopolitical spasms, central-bank appetites, and the occasional mystery about U.S. monetary policy. This physical triumph didn’t stay shy and retiring; it spilled over into tokenized gold, giving XAUT and PAXG a noticeable spring in their step. XAUT has climbed to around $2.65 billion in market cap, up more than 50% over the past month, while PAXG sits near $2.3 billion, buoyed by institutional interest in compliant, audited products.

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2026-02-13 09:34