Tokenized Gold Crosses $1 Billion Milestone in Daily Volume

Gold enters the 24/7 era. Buoyed by the yellow metal's record rally, gold-backed tokens have just exceeded $1 billion in daily volume. This milestone establishes tokenized gold as a trading and hedging tool, more agile than traditional ETFs.

A new age for digital gold

Gold has never ceased to fascinate investors, but it is now entering an unexpected era: that of the blockchain. According to a report published by CEX.IO, gold-backed tokens exceeded $1 billion in daily volume for the first time, a symbolic record driven by the surge in the yellow metal.

After crossing 2.7 billion capitalizations in September, the cumulative volume of tokenized gold products crossed 10 billion dollars, a historic rise since October 1. This level now exceeds BlackRock's iShares Gold Trust (IAU), the world's second largest gold ETF. This shift illustrates a structural transformation: gold, an age-old safe haven, is becoming a liquid digital asset, exchangeable 24 hours a day on crypto platforms.

At the same time, the price of physical gold jumped more than 10% in October, crossing $4,300 per ounce. Rising trade tensions between the United States and China, combined with the paralysis of the American government and signals of stress on global liquidity, have revived the appetite for safe havens.

Tokens more agile than traditional gold

Among these new instruments, a crypto-token backed by physical gold stood out, representing 37% of total volume this month, compared to 27% the previous quarter. The number of holders grew 12%, outpacing the growth rates of rivals like Paxos Gold (PAXG).

But beyond the volumes, it is the velocity that intrigues analysts. The volume/capitalization ratio of the tokenized gold market reaches 34%, compared to 5.6% for SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and 1.5% for IAU. In other words, every dollar invested in tokenized gold circulates seven times faster than in traditional ETFs.

This hyperactivity reflects a new use, no longer just as a conservation value, but as a tactical hedging and trading tool. In a continuously open market, without closures or borders, investors are now using the digital version of this asset to react in real time to macroeconomic shocks.

An ancestral pillar of finance 3.0

Despite a colossal gap between the size of the markets, i.e. $3.3 billion for tokenized gold versus $141 billion for GLD, the dynamic is clear: the flow is shifting. The accessibility, speed and transparency offered by blockchain are transforming the way investors interact with the precious metal.

As analyst Illya Otychenko points out in the report, “Tokenized gold is no longer just a store of value, but a utility asset at the heart of the crypto ecosystem.” A sentence that sums up the turning point: gold is no longer frozen in vaults, it circulates at the speed of the network.

In a context where confidence in fiat currencies is crumbling and geopolitics is shaking up the markets, gold is regaining its throne, but this time, on the blockchain.