Tokenised gold products added billions in new value in 2025, outpacing physical bullion and most major gold exchange-traded funds as activity shifted onchain.
Market capitalisation for tokenized gold rose by 177% over the year, while the number of holders nearly tripled with more than 115,000 new wallets added.
Data compiled by Cex.io showed tokenized gold outperforming most other real-world asset categories in both growth and user adoption.
The sector added nearly $2.8 billion in net value in 2025, expanding from roughly $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion.
That increase accounted for almost 25% of total net inflows across the wider real-world asset market.
Growth in tokenized gold exceeded the combined expansion of tokenized stocks, corporate bonds and non-US Treasurys over the same period.
Gold itself had a strong year, with total market value rising more than 67% amid global economic uncertainty.
Even with the rally in physical bullion, tokenized gold expanded 2.6 times faster than the broader gold market.
Most major spot gold ETFs lagged behind onchain products in both growth rate and trading activity.
Tokenised gold recorded an estimated $178 billion in trading volume during 2025, highlighting its growing role in global gold markets.
Quarterly trading volumes peaked above $126 billion in the fourth quarter, marking the strongest period of the year.
By trading volume, tokenized gold ranked as the second-largest gold investment product worldwide, behind only SPDR Gold Shares.
Much of the late-year surge was driven by Tether Gold, which accounted for 75% of total trading volume in the fourth quarter.
Tether Gold’s share of quarterly volume rose sharply from 27% in the third quarter, reflecting accelerating investor demand.
According to its disclosures, Tether Gold is backed by more than 1,300 gold bars held in physical custody.
Such a massive expansion highlights a structural shift in where incremental gold trading liquidity is increasingly forming onchain rather than in traditional products.
The report said.
Tokenised commodities as a whole surpassed $4.3 billion in market capitalisation, supported by steady inflows.
Data from RWA.xyz showed the tokenized commodities sector grew 18% over the past month alone.
Tether Gold and Paxos Gold led the category, with market values of approximately $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion respectively.
Gold prices surged to record highs as investors sought safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical and macroeconomic tensions.
Reports of a criminal investigation involving the US Federal Reserve chair added to concerns about central bank independence.
A weaker-than-expected US Consumer Price Index report increased expectations for multiple interest rate cuts this year.
Lower real yields and a softer dollar boosted demand for gold as a non-yielding asset.
Ongoing uncertainty around future monetary policy continued to support bullish sentiment across both physical and tokenized gold markets.