Gold regained momentum as an investment option in August, with significant interest from both traditional investors and participants in the cryptocurrency market. Tokenized gold assets such as Tether Gold (XAUT) experienced rising demand, as traders turned to them as hedges against inflation and for speculative purposes.
Tokenized gold assets grow in popularity
Despite being below its all-time highs, tokenized gold climbed toward $4,600 before retreating to around $4,480. At the close of this rally, XAUT traded at $4,474.72. Throughout August, XAUT trading volumes remained elevated, reaching some of their highest levels for 2026 as decentralized exchange (DEX) activity increased.
Tether, a major stablecoin issuer, drives this sector with XAUT, a token backed by physical gold. Over the past three months, Tether issued additional XAUT supply to meet growing market appetite. As of September 2026, the overall value of XAUT reached $3.15 billion, with an extra $59 million entering the tokenized gold market by September 4.
A total of $2.39 million in XAUT trades on Uniswap V3, contributing to a broader surge in on-chain gold transactions. XAUT and Pax Gold (PAXG) now represent the largest shares of tokenized gold trading on decentralized markets.
ETH
SOL
BSC
ROBINHOOD
USDT
AAPL| Token | Current Price | DEX Trading Volume (Aug 2026) | Total Supply Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| XAUT | $4,474.72 | Near peak for 2026 | $3.15B |
| PAXG | Similar to gold price | High | Not specified |
XAUT is also increasingly used as collateral for decentralized lending and has been integrated into the Lighter platform, further supporting the perpetual futures market.
Mini dictionary: Lighter, a decentralized exchange and derivatives platform, enables users to trade various perpetual futures contracts using cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets as collateral.
Futures and whale activities on the rise
Gold perpetual futures returned to prominence on the HIP-3 market, with open interest rising to $750 million and daily volumes reaching $299 million. Most large investors, known as whales, are positioned long in gold contracts. The largest whale currently holds more than $273,000 in unrealized gains, while the biggest short position faces unrealized losses of $2.2 million as of September 4.
Whale positions in XAUT have grown increasingly significant, with several wallets now holding millions in gold-backed tokens and maintaining their assets rather than cashing out.
Market participants attribute gold’s resurgence partly to the volatile trend in semiconductor stocks and ongoing uncertainty stemming from geopolitical tensions in Iran and inflationary pressures worldwide.
AI agent Antalpha emerges as major gold holder
A single whale wallet has contributed to XAUT’s rise, identified with high probability as controlled by the Antalpha AI agent. Over the past month, the AI agent has accumulated multiple increments of 1,000 XAUT, purchasing while gold was trading closer to $4,000 per ounce and currently realizing capital gains on its holdings.
The main Antalpha wallet has reported only inflows, with a total holding of 16,120 XAUT, equating to over $71 million as of September 4. Another Antalpha-related wallet owns more than 33,000 XAUT, with evidence pointing to regular trades and transfers, particularly to Bitfinex and Cobo for custody.
Mini dictionary: Antalpha is an AI-driven trading agent specializing in automated cryptocurrency and tokenized asset transactions, often deployed by large institutional investors to execute efficient on-chain strategies.
Analysts view Antalpha’s accumulation as a signal of deeper institutional and automated interest in tokenized gold, indicating that sophisticated market participants continue to value the asset for both stability and potential returns.
XAUT expands its footprint across blockchains
XAUT’s holder base has increased by over 16% in the past month, reaching 84,756 wallets. More than $4.6 billion in value was transacted via XAUT in August alone, with over 53,000 active addresses participating.
While the majority of XAUT tokens remain on Ethereum, the past month saw increased supply moving to the BNB Chain and Monad, paving the way for broader applications and new use cases for tokenized gold.
