Whereas Bitcoin (BTC) is commonly described as digital gold, a tokenized commodity providing direct publicity to the bodily steel is quietly gaining traction.
By the top of the second quarter, Tether Gold (XAUt) — a tokenized asset issued by the stablecoin supplier behind USDt — was backed by 7.66 tons of gold, in line with the corporate’s newest attestation report. The reserve helps greater than 259,000 XAUt tokens in circulation, giving the asset a complete market worth of over $800 million.
The rise of Tether Gold displays a broader surge in demand for bodily bullion, which has hit a number of document highs this yr amid renewed inflation considerations and market unease pushed by the White Home’s tariff agenda.
Whereas many traders nonetheless desire holding bodily gold, many establishments are turning to its digital counterpart. Simply this week, Bitcoin (BTC) treasury firm Twenty One Capital introduced that its BTC holdings have exceeded preliminary projections.
This week’s Crypto Biz explores the momentum behind Tether Gold, Twenty One Capital’s rising Bitcoin reserves, the growth of tokenized finance on Avalanche and a latest Securities and Alternate (SEC) approval that would streamline the launch of crypto funding merchandise.
Tether Gold sees continued progress as bullion hits document highs
Tether Gold has increased its physical bullion reserves as demand for its XAUt token continued to develop within the first half of the yr, in line with the most recent attestation report from BDO Italia. XAUt, which carefully tracks the market worth of gold, has surged 40% over the previous yr.
Launched in January 2020, XAUt has gained important traction lately as traders search safety towards foreign money debasement, persistent inflation and potential financial fallout from US President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.
The urge for food for gold extends past retail and institutional traders. In line with the World Gold Council, central banks added greater than 1,000 metric tons of gold in 2024, marking the third consecutive yr they’ve surpassed that threshold.
Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin holdings attain 43,500 BTC
Bitcoin treasury agency Twenty One Capital has expanded its BTC holdings, underscoring the continued institutional race to build up what many view because the world’s hardest asset.
In line with Bloomberg, the Cantor Fitzgerald–backed company obtained an extra 5,800 BTC from stablecoin issuer Tether, bringing its whole holdings to roughly 43,500 BTC — about 1,500 BTC greater than initially projected at launch.
At present market costs, Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin reserves are valued at over $5.1 billion. Since its April launch, the corporate has already grow to be one of many high three company Bitcoin holders, trailing solely Technique and MARA Holdings, in line with business information.
Avalanche will get RWA increase
Avalanche has secured a $250 million real-world asset (RWA) infusion after institutional-grade credit score protocol Grove introduced it is going to allocate capital to 2 Janus Henderson funding merchandise concentrating on US Treasurys and collateralized mortgage obligations (CLOs), in partnership with Centrifuge.
The capital can be deployed into the Janus Henderson Anemoy Treasury Fund, an actively managed onchain fund offering publicity to short-term US T-bills, and the Janus Henderson Anemoy AAA CLO Fund, which presents tokenized entry to the CLO market.
Grove, backed by Steakhouse Labs and incubated by Sky (previously MakerDAO), goals to convey institutional credit score methods onchain.
The transfer underscores the rising momentum of RWAs on the Avalanche blockchain, at a time when Ethereum’s dominance in the RWA sector is starting to erode.
SEC greenlights in-kind redemptions for crypto ETFs
US cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers obtained a big regulatory win this week because the SEC approved in-kind creations and redemptions — a change that permits fund managers to change ETF shares immediately for the underlying crypto property, slightly than money.
“It’s a brand new day on the SEC, and a key precedence of my chairmanship is growing a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto asset markets,” mentioned SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who described the rule change as a transfer that can make crypto ETFs “more cost effective and extra environment friendly.”
The up to date redemption guidelines apply to each Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs, which have been permitted in 2024.
Whereas Bitcoin ETFs have loved robust inflows since launch, Ethereum ETFs are actually gaining momentum. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum ETF lately surpassed $10 billion in property, reaching the milestone on the third-fastest tempo in US ETF historical past.
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