Crypto Bullion Goes Viral: XAUT Holders Soar 172% in Gold-Backed Token Frenzy

Since late 2024, gold has climbed over 27% against the U.S. dollar, and that upward move has ignited a wave of interest in tokenized gold coins. The leading digital gold tokens have seen their holder counts balloon anywhere from 38% to a whopping 172% since the end of last year.

Tether and Paxos Rule the Digital Gold Arena With 85% Market Hold

Data shows Tether’s gold-backed token XAUT now holds a market cap of $822 million, while Paxos’ PAXG is sitting slightly higher at $934 million. Together, these two giants dominate the $2.05 billion tokenized gold market, accounting for a hefty 85.61% of the entire sector. With gold on a tear this year, interest and trading around these two precious-metal-pegged crypto tokens have taken off like a rocket.

For context, each PAXG token issued by Paxos is tied to one fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold, securely stored in professional vaults—mostly in London—and fully backed by physical bullion held in custody. Likewise, each Tether-issued XAUT token reflects ownership of one troy ounce of real gold, safely tucked away in Swiss vaults. Back in December 2024, there were 35,193 unique wallets holding PAXG.

Fast forward to today, and that number has grown 38.56% to 48,763 wallets—a jump of 13,570 new holders. While Tether’s XAUT trails in total wallet count, it’s racing ahead in growth. In December 2024, Etherscan data showed 3,104 wallets holding XAUT. Now, that figure has exploded to 8,466 unique addresses.

That’s a 172% jump in wallet count for XAUT since Dec. 2024. With wallet growth accelerating and valuations rising, tokenized gold is clearly pulling in investor interest and gaining ground beyond a niche audience.

The growing grip of PAXG and XAUT shows the market’s tilt toward trusted issuers. This uptick in adoption points to real confidence in digital gold as a modern store of value, pairing the stability of precious metals with the efficiency of blockchain. Any future momentum likely hinges on gold’s price path and wider crypto acceptance.