Tether Expands Gold Strategy as Ledn Adds XAUT Support for Crypto-Backed Loans

Tether is expanding the utility of its tokenized gold product, Tether Gold (XAUT), by partnering with crypto lending platform Ledn, marking another step in the company's strategy to broaden the real-world use cases of digital assets backed by physical commodities.

Ledn announced that it now supports Tether Gold (XAUT) alongside Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether's USDT stablecoin on its platform. The crypto lender also confirmed that borrowing against XAUT is expected to launch later this year, allowing investors to unlock liquidity from their tokenized gold holdings without selling the underlying asset.

The partnership highlights Tether's efforts to maximize the value of its estimated $23 billion in physical gold reserves, which back XAUT. According to the company, every XAUT token represents one troy ounce of physical gold securely stored in Swiss vaults, offering investors blockchain-based exposure to one of the world's oldest safe-haven assets.

Traditionally, gold-backed lending has been dominated by central banks, major financial institutions, and bullion dealers. By tokenizing physical gold, Tether and Ledn aim to modernize the process, enabling digital gold to function as collateral in much the same way Bitcoin has been used for crypto-backed lending.

Ledn noted that it will continue its conservative lending model, keeping client collateral fully reserved on a one-to-one basis. The company emphasized that deposited assets are neither lent out nor used to generate yield, distinguishing its business model from several crypto lenders that collapsed during the 2022 digital asset market downturn.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the growing importance of digital assets is driving demand for financial products that allow investors to retain ownership of their holdings while accessing additional liquidity.

The latest partnership reflects Tether's broader ambition to evolve beyond its flagship USDT stablecoin business. Fueled by strong earnings from USDT, the company has expanded into multiple sectors, including financial infrastructure, artificial intelligence, energy, and digital asset services.

Gold has become a central pillar of that diversification strategy. Beyond growing the adoption of XAUT, Tether has accumulated approximately 140 metric tons of physical gold, making it one of the world's largest private corporate holders of the precious metal. The company has also invested in online precious metals marketplace Gold.com and partnered with crypto financing firm Antalpha to increase XAUT's use in lending services and physical gold redemption.

In addition to precious metals, Tether continues to invest heavily in Bitcoin mining operations, renewable energy projects, and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company has backed AI computing provider Northern Data while pursuing broader investments in high-performance computing and emerging technologies.

As institutional demand for tokenized real-world assets continues to rise, Tether's latest collaboration with Ledn demonstrates how blockchain technology is reshaping traditional finance by making physical assets such as gold more accessible, liquid, and usable within the growing digital asset ecosystem.