What Tether Gold is
Tether Gold (XAUt) is a tokenized gold product from Tether An XAUt token represents ownership of 1 high quality troy ounce of physical gold. In Tether’s description, that’s gold assignedstored in Swiss safesand tied to London Good delivery Standards as stated in Tether's announcements concerning the XAUt support and custody facility on tether.io.
XAUt is designed to mix gold exposure with crypto-like portability, including 24/7 transfers and exchange trading. Tether also emphasizes that the gold allocated is identifiable unique bar information resembling serial number, purity and weight in its product communications on tether.io.
Who issues XAUt?
Tether describes Tether Gold as a digital asset offered by TG Commodities SA de CVand it says that TG Commodities is accountable for the issuance and redemption of its Tether Gold documentation, including the official document containing relevant information.
A practical distinction is vital here.
- Primary market: Purchase or redeem directly from the Tether Gold website with a verified account.
- Secondary market: Buying or selling on stock exchanges and other trading venues.
Tether's own documentation explains that its obligations apply to primary market users and that secondary market activity follows the principles of those third-party venues, as described within the relevant information document.
How XAUt works under the hood
Token standard and decimal numbers
On Ethereum, XAUt is an ERC-20 token 6 decimal placeswhich will be confirmed by taking a look at the token contract page on Etherscan.
Divisibility allows exposure of very small fractions of gold. Tether has identified micro-divisibility (as much as 0.000001 troy ounces) in product communication.
Carrier model
Tether’s formulation relies on “allocated gold, not pooled claims.” In practice, because of this XAUt is meant to represent ownership rights to allocated gold bullion, with the bullion attributes verifiable through Tether's tools described within the product materials.
Price behavior in comparison with spot gold
XAUt is often traded near the worth of 1 troy ounce of gold, but the worth may vary for the next reasons:
- Stock market liquidity and spreads
- Ethereum network fees and settlement issues
- Primary Market Fees and Redemption Restrictions
- Regional differences in demand between exchanges
The token remains to be a crypto market instrument, so it relies on the mechanics of the venue.
Where XAUt exists and the way the official contract is verified
Official network support
For XAUt, Tether's own integration page lists the Ethereum contract address within the “Supported Protocols” section on tether.to “Supported Protocols” which links on to the contract on Etherscan.
Official Ethereum contract address
The address shown on Tether's own Supported Protocols page is:
- XAUt (Ethereum): 0x68749665FF8D2d112Fa859AA293F07A622782F38
When a platform claims “XAUt on one other chain,” it may very well be a bridged asset, a wrapped version, or one other token. The safest approach is to treat anything not listed on Tether's Supported Protocols page as non-canonical and thoroughly validate it before interacting.
How to purchase and hold XAUt
Buy on stock exchanges
Most people obtain XAUt through exchanges and trade it like several other spot asset. This is secondary market exposure.
For a safer execution:
- Prefer trading venues with higher liquidity for XAUt pairs.
- Use limit orders when liquidity is low.
- Consider the on-chain withdrawal costs when leaving the exchange.
Buy directly from Tether Gold
Tether's documentation describes a primary market flow where a KYC verified customer should purchase directly from the Tether Gold website. The relevant information document states: a current minimum purchase size of fifty XAUtand it’s explained that onboarding includes identity verification.
Holding and custody options
XAUt will be held like other ERC-20 assets.
- Hardware wallet for long-term storage.
- Self-custodial wallet (with strong seed security) for flexibility.
- Exchange custody for frequent trading with counterparty risk.
Since XAUt is ERC-20, a wallet can even contain authorizations for spending through smart contracts. This is vital for security.
How salvation works
The most vital restriction: redemptions are made for entire gold bars
This is stated in Tether's documentation Redemptions can only be made for full gold barsand it explains why token holders are generally asked to deposit at the least 430 XAUt to make sure there are enough ounces for a bar, the load of which can vary across the London Good Delivery standard range.
Delivery and collection
Tether has described redemption options in its public educational content that include delivery to a Swiss address or in-person pickup from the vault.
Fees and Spreads
The RID describes an acquisition price for the first market that relies on the acquisition costs of the Swiss gold market plus a specified fee, with a specified fee level of 25bps on the time of the document.
It also describes a 150 USDT verification fee for brand new KYC applications and notes how this fee will likely be handled, also in the identical relevant information document.
How to ascertain support and offer
Reporting on reserves and requirements
Tether often publishes details about XAUt reserves and circulation metrics in its announcements. For example, the Q3 2025 update released each physical gold ounces and tokens in circulation and stated that reserves are held in Switzerland, in line with London Good Delivery.
A live reserve dashboard for XAUt is maintained on Tether's gold reporting portal at gold.tether.to/reports, which is meant to display the tokens in circulation and the backing model.
Controls of deliveries within the chain
On Ethereum, on-chain inventory and token holders will be checked on Etherscan. This alone doesn’t prove the vault inventory, but fairly verifies the issuance and circulation on the chain.
Common security checks and errors
Always check the contract address
Scammers often copy tickers like “XAUT” with similar contracts. The simplest defense is to confirm the address using Tether's own Supported Protocols page and check the precise token contract on Etherscan.
Avoid unsupported deposit routes
Sending tokens to an address or exchange that doesn’t support the asset could lead to everlasting loss. Tether's token recovery support guidelines warn against only sending tokens to destinations that explicitly support them.
Pay attention to permissions when using DeFi
If a wallet uses XAUt in DeFi, it can have permissions that allow smart contracts to transfer XAUt later. In general, permissions needs to be revoked once they are not any longer needed, especially after security incidents or after interaction with unknown contracts.
If XAUt is sensible
XAUt is often used for:
- Portability of on-chain gold exposure
- Cross-border settlement and transfer use cases
- Diversification narratives as crypto volatility increases
- Exchange-based trading with gold exposures without traditional brokerage channels
XAUt isn’t a direct substitute for storing small physical coins at home. Redemption takes place in large steps.
Important risks to know
Issuer and Custody Risk
XAUt relies on the issuer processes, vault custody and legal structure. The token isn’t a gold ETF and doesn’t eliminate counterparty risk.
Redemption and Liquidity Restrictions
Redemption relies on full bars and KYC, which may make physical delivery inconvenient for smaller holders.
Ethereum network risk
Transfers will be expensive or delayed in traffic jams. Wallet mistakes are difficult to undo.
Regulatory and access risk
Access to the first market is subject to identity verification and eligibility rules, which can change by jurisdiction.
Diploma
Tether Gold (XAUt) is a tokenized gold product intended to represent ownership of 1 troy ounce of allocated physical gold per token, with custody and compliance requirements described in Tether's disclosures. The safest method to use it’s to review the official Ethereum contract, understand the difference between secondary market trading and first market redemptions, and treat approvals, custody, and redemption restrictions as core parts of the danger model.
The post Tether Gold (XAUt) Guide: How It Works, How to Check It and How to Use It Safely appeared first on Crypto Adventure.
