Gold prices hit a new high, could XAUT become a new investment option in 2026?

The precious metals market experienced a long-awaited boom in 2025, with the performance of gold reaching historic highs and attracting widespread attention. Data shows that the spot gold price increased by 65% throughout the year, setting over 50 new records. What underlying factors are driving this trend? For investors seeking new asset allocation avenues, is Tether’s gold token XAUT worth including in their portfolios?

Spot Gold Breaks New Highs: What Are the Driving Factors?

The gold market in 2025 has been remarkably strong. In September last year, spot gold prices hovered between $3,400 and $3,500 per ounce. Just three months later, prices surged to around $4,550 per ounce, a remarkable increase. Although there has been some phase correction recently, the upward momentum remains robust.

The World Gold Council’s report indicates that several factors have supported gold’s rally: decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court on tariffs, ongoing geopolitical conflicts (such as recent U.S. actions in Venezuela), and central banks worldwide continuing to buy gold amid a backdrop of global “de-dollarization.” Notably, despite potential short-term volatility, these factors are expected to remain favorable for gold’s medium- and long-term trend.

Statistics for 2025 show that gold prices hit over 50 new highs within the year, with the spot gold closing at $4,318.65 per ounce at year-end. With the Federal Reserve restarting its rate-cut cycle, gold has become a market-recognized “star asset,” with its hedging and value preservation functions fully leveraged.

Institutional Capital Fuels the Market, Global Allocation Accelerates

The hot gold market in 2025 is reflected not only in price gains but also in the actual flow of global investment funds. Data from the World Gold Council shows unprecedented inflows into gold ETFs, mainly driven by North American funds. Gold holdings in Asia nearly doubled, and European demand also saw significant growth.

UBS Group issued a positive forecast, raising gold target prices for March, June, and September 2026 to $5,000 per ounce (up from previous $4,500). It is expected that by the end of 2026, gold prices will slightly retreat to around $4,800 per ounce. These figures indicate that both institutional investors and research institutions have high expectations for gold’s performance over the next year.

Advantages of Holding Gold Token XAUT

For ordinary investors who cannot hold physical gold directly or face high transaction costs, XAUT offers a more convenient participation channel. Issued by Tether, this gold-backed token has several core advantages.

First, asset strength and credit backing. Tether purchased 26 tons of gold in Q3 2025, bringing its total gold holdings to 116 tons, ranking among the top 30 largest gold holders globally. Earlier in the month, the company also bought 8,888 Bitcoin, worth about $780 million, with publicly disclosed holdings exceeding 96,000 BTC. These moves demonstrate Tether’s strong financial capacity and strategic vision. Currently, XAUT’s market cap is about $2.3 billion, with ample liquidity ensuring smooth entry and exit for investors.

Second, lowered barriers to product innovation. Tether recently launched a new valuation unit for XAUT called “Scudo,” defined as one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold or one-thousandth of an XAUT token, approximately $4.4. This innovation simplifies the valuation process, addressing the pain point of dealing with small decimal fractions during trading, and significantly lowers the trading threshold to a few dollars. Tether Gold remains fully backed by physical gold stored in secure vaults, and the introduction of Scudo does not alter the fundamental structure of XAUT.

Multi-Platform Deployment and Trading Flexibility

The third major advantage is the broad trading channels. According to Coingecko, XAUT is listed on major centralized exchanges (CEX) such as Bybit, OKX, and Bitget, as well as decentralized exchanges (DEX) like Uniswap, Fluid, and Curve. This allows investors to choose between conservative spot purchases or more flexible leveraged trading strategies, catering to different risk preferences.

The fourth advantage stems from Tether’s leading position in the stablecoin ecosystem. According to Bloomberg citing Artemis Analytics, global stablecoin trading volume surged 72% year-over-year in 2025, reaching a record $33 trillion. Among these, Tether’s USDT traded $13.3 trillion, and Circle’s USDC traded $18.3 trillion, together accounting for the majority of stablecoin activity. This market influence provides a solid foundation for XAUT’s future development and adoption.

New Asset Allocation Ideas in a Dollar Depreciation Environment

In the current environment where the USD/CNY exchange rate continues to decline, many ordinary investors seek effective ways to hedge against inflation and fiat currency depreciation. Compared to traditional gold spot or ETF investments requiring thousands of dollars to start, the launch of XAUT and Scudo valuation units makes it feasible to participate with just tens or even a few dollars.

For those with limited liquidity and lower risk appetite, converting part of their fiat into gold tokens is undoubtedly a more stable choice than high-risk assets. The continuous record highs of gold prices and the influx of institutional funds confirm the long-term attractiveness of this asset class.

Conclusion

As 2026 begins, the prosperity of the gold market has become a consensus. XAUT, as a bridge connecting traditional precious metals assets with the crypto world, is actively exploring new asset allocation possibilities. From Tether’s strong backing to the innovation of Scudo units, from multi-platform liquidity support to the empowerment of the stablecoin ecosystem, the logic of XAUT’s allocation is well established. For investors seeking diversification and risk hedging, this may be an opportunity not to be overlooked.