Market for Gold-Linked Tokens Expands to $3.9B Amid CZ’s ‘Trust Me Bro’ Comment

Gold Tokens Surge to $3.86B Despite Skepticism from CZ

Gold-backed crypto tokens are gaining popularity even as gold prices stabilize near $4,100 per ounce. Total market capitalization for these tokens has reached $3.86 billion, led by XAUT ($4,148.53) and Paxos Gold (PAXG), according to CoinGecko.

Yet Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) warned that these assets are not truly “on-chain” gold. “Tokenizing gold is really tokenizing trust in a third party to deliver gold in the future—possibly decades later, under uncertain conditions,” CZ wrote on X.

The reliance on centralized issuers raises concerns similar to those faced by stablecoins, which can lose their peg during periods of extreme stress. During a recent $500 billion crypto market sell-off, Ethena’s USDe dropped as low as $0.65 on Binance, while USDC and USDT held near $1.

While gold tokens may appeal as a hedge, their trust-based model limits adoption. “It’s a ‘trust me bro’ token,” CZ added, explaining why no gold-backed coin has achieved broad market traction.

Tether Gold, the largest gold token by market cap, sits at $2.1 billion—far below USDT’s $183 billion—highlighting the niche status of tokenized gold in the broader crypto ecosystem.