Tether pours $150M into gold as crypto downturn intensifies

Tether has reportedly made a $150 million investment in a move to increase its exposure in the gold markets. This comes amid attempts to acquire a minority stake in the exchange site Gold.com.

In an announcement by the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, the company acquired a 12% stake in Gold.com, a crypto exchange, as part of the deal. Exchanges are set to be offered for the company’s new crypto, called XAU₮, as well as Gold.com’s institutional/retail platform.

Tether acts on gold as special metals tower over crypto winter

Special metal gold has been posting extreme price swings over the past week, starting the period above the $ 5,000-per-ounce threshold but dropping to the mid-$4,800 range at Thursday’s market close. The volatility comes amid macroeconomic strains and geopolitical friction between the US and the Middle East.

By Friday, gold was trading at $4,870 per ounce after reversing earlier losses, rising 1.41% on a price correction. The slump that started late last week erased most year-to-date gains, following heavy selling after January’s $5,500 all-time high record. 

Over the past month, bullion prices advanced 8.74%, while year-on-year performance surged 69.46%, based on contracts for difference tracking the commodity’s benchmark market. In parallel to the physical asset market, the digital gold-backed stablecoin industry has grown from about $1.3 billion to more than $5.5 billion. 

As reported by Cryptopolitan, XAU₮ accounts for over half of the global gold-stablecoin market capitalization. Since asset managers and sovereign buyers are now banking on blockchain issuance and custody systems for real-world assets, tokenized bullion has become an institutional-grade digital instrument.

Paolo Ardoino noted that the bullion had retained value amid geopolitical and monetary stress. He further elaborated that the bullion meets Tether’s strategy in terms of stability, ownership, and long-term capital protection.

Monetary policies trip gold and crypto gains

Gold faced selling pressures earlier in the week after policy signals from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank weakened European currencies. The central banks’ dovish stances slumped the pound and euro while simultaneously strengthening the US dollar and reducing the bullion’s market appeal.

In the crypto market, Bitcoin has ticked down by 21% over the last seven days, eroding almost 50% of its profits from its all-time high reached in October last year. According to CoinGecko Bitcoin was trading at $64,870 during early Asian market trading today.

Some economists believe traders are moving away from tech equities and precious metals toward “undervalued assets” such as the greenback. However, Friday’s positive gold price change could have stemmed from geopolitical risks that support a longer-term demand for bullion.

The BBC reported on Thursday that Russia, Ukraine, and the United States concluded a second round of peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi. The talks culminated in a successful prisoner exchange but left unresolved political and security questions.

Russia said it regretted the expiration of the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, but insisted Moscow was open to discussing a new treaty.  

US President Donald Trump talked about the matter on Truth Social later in the day, saying: “Rather than extend “NEW START” (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future.”

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