Tether is now supporting a golden-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAU₮), according to a Jan. 23 printing release. Ane token represents ownership of i troy fine ounce of concrete gold, currently worth approximately $ane,550.

The new product is available every bit an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, as well every bit a TRC20 token on Tron (TRX).

The funds are said to be backed by physical gold held in a "Switzerland vault," the press release reads. According to Tether, its gilded offering is the only production amidst its contest that does not charge custody fees.

Tether has too invited all exchanges wishing to support the new token to contact the visitor. Blockchain information for the Ethereum contract shows that there is currently an outstanding supply of almost four,000 tokens, which would be equivalent to a $6.ii million market capitalization.

Bitfinex has already launched XAUT trading, with one quarter of the ERC-20 supply having been moved to Bitfinex. As a closely-affiliated company to Tether, it was expected for Bitfinex to exist the offset to offering the new token.

Plans for commodity-backed Tethers were in full swing since at least September 2022.

Tether has often been criticized for its opaque reserve management, with one high-profile class action lawsuit alleging that the visitor used this to manipulate the market place in 2022.

In addition, Bitfinex reportedly used Tether reserves to cover a liquidity shortfall following issues with its payment provider, Crypto Capital Corp.