The stablecoin issuer is enhancing its tokenized gold initiative by permitting XAUT holders to secure loans against their bullion, mimicking bitcoin-backed lending without liquidating their assets.
By Jamie Crawley, AI Boost|Edited by Stephen Alpher Jun 27, 2026, 3:00 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)SummaryShow- Tether and Ledn are set to provide gold-backed loans later this year.
- This initiative enhances the functionality of Tether's $23 billion gold reserves, enabling holders to borrow against tokenized gold instead of selling it.
- The service is akin to Ledn's bitcoin-backed lending approach.
Tether is expanding the applications of its $23 billion gold reserves by integrating its tokenized asset, Tether Gold (XAUT), with crypto lender Ledn.
Ledn announced that it will support XAUT, in addition to bitcoin BTC$60,756.25 and Tether's USDT, with borrowing against XAUT anticipated later this year.
Tether aims to capitalize on what is now one of the largest privately held gold reserves worldwide. The company claims to possess approximately $23 billion in physical gold to back XAUT, with each token corresponding to one troy ounce of gold stored in Swiss vaults.
Gold-backed lending has typically been associated with central banks, significant financial firms, and bullion traders. Tether and Ledn assert that by tokenizing physical gold, it can serve as digital collateral similar to bitcoin, providing liquidity without necessitating its sale.
This follows the model Ledn has employed for bitcoin-backed loans for several years. Ledn maintains that client collateral is kept at a 1:1 ratio, without being loaned out or utilized for yield generation, distinguishing its services from those of previous competitors that collapsed during the crypto downturn of 2022.
According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, "As digital assets become an increasingly important part of the global economy, demand is growing for solutions that combine long-term ownership with financial flexibility."
This development represents another instance of Tether utilizing the earnings generated by USDT, the largest stablecoin globally, to diversify its operations beyond its primary business. Over the last few years, the company has been transforming into a wider technology and infrastructure entity that encompasses finance, energy, and AI.
A crucial aspect of this strategy involves establishing a robust gold business. In addition to enhancing XAUT, Tether has amassed about 140 metric tons of physical gold, positioning it as one of the largest corporate gold holders globally. The company has also invested in Gold.com and partnered with Antalpha to broaden the use of XAUT in lending and physical redemption.
In addition to its gold initiatives, Tether has invested in bitcoin mining and renewable energy initiatives, while also supporting Northern Data, an AI infrastructure provider, as part of a larger strategy into computing technologies.
TetherAI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.Related AssetsBitcoin$60,741.450.82%Latest Crypto News- 1Polymarket hack updated to $3.1 million days after the platform promised users full refunds1 hour ago
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