Precious Metals Company Issues Tokenized Gold Dividends, Tether XAUT Opens Financial Innovation Applications

Elemental Royalty announced a cutting-edge initiative on Tuesday: distributing dividends to investors in the form of Tether’s tokenized gold (XAUT). This not only provides investors with a way to directly own physical gold but also opens new corporate financing opportunities for tokenized gold products on Wall Street.

The Colorado-based precious metals licensing company stated in an official release that the move aims to allow investors to receive a total of 12 cents in dividends through several quarterly payments. Traditional investors can still receive distributions in cash. CEO David Cole described this option as a strategic innovation, believing that paying dividends in the form of tokenized gold is “a forward-looking, growth-driven investment that positions Elemental as a pioneering player.”

According to Yahoo Finance data, Elemental’s stock price fell 7.8% on Tuesday, closing at $19.41. The company primarily profits through acquiring licenses related to mining projects, a model that avoids the risks of directly owning and operating mines while maintaining upside potential.

XAUT Moves from Niche to Mainstream: The Ecosystem Expansion of Tokenized Gold

With gold prices rising 66% over the past year, Tether, the stablecoin issuer, has made XAUT tokenized gold products a key growth area. Recent data shows XAUT is currently priced at $4.97K, with a circulating market cap of $2.80 billion and a total market cap reaching $3.54 billion—marking rapid growth from $714 million to its current scale.

In mid-month, as gold prices hit new all-time highs, XAUT’s market cap briefly surged to $3.5 billion. In the tokenized gold space, XAUT faces competition from PAX Gold, with both products launched less than a year apart.

To promote practical trading of XAUT, Tether has taken several measures. In January, video platform Rumble announced it would adopt XAUT as a medium of exchange on its platform, allowing users to tip creators with this token, alongside Bitcoin and USDT, as a payment option. Additionally, Tether introduced “Scudo,” a new unit representing 1/1000 of a troy ounce of gold, aiming to lower barriers to using tokenized gold.

From Consumer Payments to Corporate Financing: Breakthroughs in Tokenized Gold Applications

The most significant aspect of Elemental Royalty’s move is that it demonstrates the potential for tokenized gold to expand from consumer use into corporate financing. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized in an official statement that “this marks an important step forward for the gold industry and showcases how tokenized assets can unlock new financial models previously out of reach.” He also noted that integrating tokens into traditional Wall Street efforts has faced major obstacles in the past.

According to Ardoino’s latest disclosures, Tether currently holds about 140 tons of gold stored in a former nuclear bunker in Switzerland. At current prices, this gold reserve is valued at approximately $24 billion. Part of this gold backing supports Tether’s $183 billion in USDT stablecoins, providing a real asset foundation.

Market Participants and Outlook: Institutionalization of Tokenized Gold

Industry trends indicate that tokenized gold is attracting increasing institutional participation. Market maker Wintermute recently began supporting XAUT trading; the firm, which handles billions of dollars in daily trading volume, announced last week that it has started executing OTC trades for XAUT and PAX Gold on behalf of financial institutions.

This move reflects a significant trend: under the dual pressures of de-dollarization and financial innovation, demand for around-the-clock trading of tokenized gold is surging. Wintermute predicts that the total market size for tokenized gold could reach $15 billion by the end of the year—implying more than threefold growth in the coming months.

This market outlook suggests that innovative approaches like distributing dividends via tokenized gold not only offer new asset options for investors but also pave practical pathways for integrating traditional finance with on-chain assets, indicating a continually expanding potential for tokenized assets in corporate financing.