When Antalpha, a crypto-focused financial services firm, made a big bet on gold last September, it wasn’t buying bullion bars or traditional ETFs. Instead, it took a digital route—acquiring $241 million worth of Tether Gold (XAUt), a tokenized version of the yellow metal backed by physical gold stored in Swiss vaults.
Nine months later, that bet is paying off handsomely. With gold prices surging through late 2025 and into 2026, Antalpha’s position has ballooned, generating over $100 million in unrealized profits. Now, on-chain data suggests the firm is beginning to lock in gains.
According to blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, wallets linked to Antalpha have transferred approximately $15 million worth of XAUt to Cobo, a crypto custody platform—a move widely interpreted as a precursor to liquidation.
Tether Gold (XAUt) is a digital asset issued by Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin operator. Each token represents ownership of one troy ounce of physical gold, held in secure vaults in Switzerland and subject to regular audits. Unlike traditional gold ETFs or paper gold, XAUt operates on the blockchain, enabling 24/7 transferability and the option to redeem for physical metal.
While Tether wasn’t the first mover in tokenized gold, its vast user base and the liquidity network of its USDT stablecoin have propelled XAUt to the top of the sector. As of early 2026, XAUt’s market capitalization exceeds $2.7 billion, making it the largest gold-backed token globally.
Antalpha’s windfall is, in part, a reflection of the asset’s underlying strength—and Tether’s own aggressive accumulation of physical gold. According to Fahad Tariq, Senior Vice President of Equity Research at Jefferies, Tether now holds an estimated 125 to 150 metric tons of gold, positioning it as the “largest non-sovereign buyer of gold,” with holdings surpassing those of countries like Australia, the UAE, Qatar, South Korea, and Greece.
These reserves back both XAUt and, in part, Tether’s USDT stablecoin, which has a circulating supply of $187 billion. Approximately 7% of USDT’s reserves are gold-backed. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino recently stated that the company aims to increase gold’s share of its total reserves to between 10% and 15%.
“We are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders, and that carries real responsibility,” Ardoino said in a statement.
Tether’s gold-buying spree is now large enough to move markets. Analysts at Société Générale note that if XAUt’s holdings were compared to traditional gold ETFs, it would rank as the eighth-largest globally by tonnage—despite not being an ETF at all.
In December 2025, XAUt saw the second-highest inflows among all global ETFs, trailing only the world’s largest gold-backed fund, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), according to the French bank.
More notably, Tether’s flows are now competing with hedge fund activity. “In the last week of January, Tether’s flows became dominant and were a clear driver of market behavior into month-end, especially compared to ETFs,” SocGen analysts noted. “After the sharp price decline on Friday the 30th, Tether added a further 11 metric tonnes—effectively ‘buying the dip’—and the flows by Tether outsized those of ETFs but certainly not hedge funds.”
Tether Gold’s rise is emblematic of a broader trend: the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). By bringing traditional assets like gold, bonds, and real estate onto the blockchain, issuers aim to combine the stability of physical collateral with the efficiency and programmability of digital finance.
Gold, with its global recognition, price transparency, and standardization, has emerged as the leading RWA category. Total value locked in RWA protocols has surged since 2025, with tokenized gold leading the charge.
Still, challenges remain. Regulatory uncertainty, custody risks, and market adoption are ongoing concerns. Yet Tether’s scale demonstrates that tokenized assets can not only replicate traditional finance but also influence it—becoming a new source of price discovery and liquidity.
Antalpha’s $100 million gain is more than a single firm’s success story—it’s a signal. It shows that when the world’s oldest safe-haven asset meets blockchain technology, the result can be both a store of value and a generator of significant returns. And Tether Gold, once a niche product, is increasingly a name that traditional markets can no longer ignore.
