Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
Eligible firms operating within ADGM can now offer services involving tokenised gold after Tether Gold (XAU₮) was recognised as an Accepted Spot Commodity within the financial centre.
“The approval follows continued close engagement with ADGM to demonstrate the resilience, transparency and compliance-focused approach of Tether’s operations, and gives firms in ADGM a clearer path to offer services involving XAU₮ within a regulated framework,” Tether said in a statement.
The recognition does not automatically allow every company registered in ADGM to offer the product. Firms must hold the relevant regulatory permissions and receive approval to use Accepted Spot Commodities.
Tether Gold is a digital token backed by physical gold. Each full XAU₮ token represents one fine troy ounce of gold held as part of a London Good Delivery bar. The token records and transfers the holder’s interest through blockchain technology, allowing the gold-backed asset to be moved digitally without the physical bullion changing location.
The gold backing the tokens is held in Switzerland. Holders can use Tether’s online lookup facility to check details of the gold bar allocated to their tokens, including its serial number, purity and weight.
The arrangement combines the characteristics of physical gold with those of a digital asset. The value of XAU₮ is linked to the underlying gold, while the token can be transferred through supported blockchain networks. It is not merely a contract designed to track the price of gold.
Demand for such products has increased as financial institutions seek more efficient ways to access, transfer and manage traditional assets using blockchain technology. Tokenised real-world assets represented more than $31 billion in distributed asset value, compared with about $6.6 billion a year earlier, Tether said.
The amount of gold backing XAU₮ rose substantially in the first quarter of 2026. Tether’s figures showed reserves of 707,747.139 fine troy ounces as of March 31, up approximately 36% from 520,089.350 ounces at the end of 2025. A total of 707,747.09 XAU₮ tokens were in circulation at the end of March.
Crypto.news reported in May that the market value of XAU₮ had exceeded $3.3 billion following the increase in its physical gold reserves.
The recognition builds on the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s earlier recognition of Tether’s dollar-linked USD₮ as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token. The two products fall into different regulatory categories: USD₮ is linked to the US dollar, while XAU₮ is backed by physical gold and has been brought under ADGM’s Spot Commodities framework.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said the recognition created room for appropriately authorised firms to work with a token backed by physical gold.
“By bringing XAU₮ into its Spot Commodities framework, ADGM is creating new room for firms with the relevant regulatory permissions to work with a token backed by physical gold,” Ardoino said. “This is an important step for tokenised real-world assets and for the growth of practical, regulated digital finance in the Middle East.”
Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, said the recognition broadened the products and services available to firms operating from the financial centre.
“The recognition of XAU₮ as an Accepted Spot Commodity further strengthens the breadth of products and services available to firms operating from ADGM, supporting the continued scaling of business activity within ADGM and Abu Dhabi’s growing financial ecosystem,” Ramamurthy said.
