Tether Buys 12% Stake in Gold.com With $150M Tokenized Gold Push
- Tether invests $150M in Gold.com as rising demand lifts interest in tokenized gold assets
- Deal links XAU₮ to Gold.com while opening paths for stablecoin payments in gold markets
- Tether secures a board seat as Gold.com expands its gold-backed digital asset offerings
Tether has made a decisive move into the precious metals market, committing $150 million to acquire a minority stake in Gold.com as demand for gold-backed assets accelerates amid global market volatility. The investment gives the stablecoin issuer a 12% ownership position in the publicly traded gold platform and signals a deeper effort to connect traditional stores of value with blockchain-based finance.
The timing is not accidental. Gold prices pushed past $5,500 per ounce last week, and tokenized gold has swelled from roughly $1.3 billion to more than $5.5 billion in market size. Consequently, Tether is now trying to position itself inside that momentum, connecting its stablecoin infrastructure to a market that historically leans toward caution rather than experimentation.
Strategic Entry Into Gold.com: Terms Behind the Move
According to disclosures published by Gold.com, Tether agreed to buy about $125 million in Common Shares upfront, with another $25 million to follow once certain regulatory steps are cleared. Altogether, the purchase covers 3.371 million shares at $44.50, an 11.9% discount to the company’s 10-day VWAP as of Feb. 4, 2026. Moreover, the shares come with typical registration rights and carry a 90-day resale restriction.
The investment also gives Tether the ability to nominate one director to the company’s board. Traders seemed quick to register the significance of the partnership, pushing Gold.com’s stock up roughly 6% in after-hours dealings once the news hit.
Building a Bridge Between Vaults and Blockchains
While the equity stake matters, most of the long-term implications fall in the partnership language. Gold.com already handles sourcing, logistics, and distribution of physical bullion. The new plan involves embedding Tether’s XAU₮ token into that system so users can move between physical and tokenized gold without leaving the platform.
Both sides intend to explore whether physical gold purchases can be settled through USDT or Tether’s newer U.S.-regulated stablecoin, USAT. Yet, the arrangement will need to pass regulatory checks, but the direction is clear: the companies want to pull precious metals closer to digital-asset rails without abandoning the conventions of the traditional metals trade.
Commercial Commitments Take Shape
Meanwhile, several financial and operational provisions still sit underneath the headline figure. Per reports, Tether will extend Gold.com a gold-leasing facility of no less than $100 million, a move that could expand liquidity across the platform’s bullion programs. Gold.com, for its part, agreed to accept USDT or USAT for certain payments where feasible and to promote Tether-issued tokens in various customer-facing channels.
Another piece of the deal sees Gold.com directing $20 million of the investment proceeds into XAU₮. That allocation effectively loops the transaction back into Tether’s tokenized-gold ecosystem and reinforces the token’s physical backing held in Swiss vaults.
Related: USDT’s $187B Market Cap Scale Signals Capital on Standby, Not in Retreat
Market Context and Executive Commentary
The timing of the deal reflects broader shifts in investor behavior. Gold has climbed rapidly over the past several quarters, fueled by geopolitical friction and persistent unease in monetary policy.
Similarly, tokenized gold markets have followed, and XAU₮ now represents more than 60% of that segment. Paolo Ardoino, chief executive of Tether, described the move as a long-term hedge rather than a tactical trade, noting gold’s historical role during unstable periods.
For Gold.com, the investment brings a large digital customer base into reach, while Tether gains a firmer foothold in a commodity market that has rarely overlapped with crypto. The result is an alliance that attempts to link two financial worlds, one anchored in vaults, the other in code, at a time when investors are looking for steady ground.
