Tether Gold holders will be able to borrow against tokenized bullion through a planned lending product from Tether and Ledn later this year.
The arrangement will allow holders of Tether Gold, known as XAUT, to access loans without selling the underlying gold exposure tied to their tokens.
Tether Partners With Ledn For XAUT Lending
USDT issuer Tether and crypto lending platform Ledn have outlined plans to introduce gold-backed loans using XAUT as collateral.
The product is expected to go live before the end of 2026, although specific loan terms and the exact launch date have not been disclosed.
Ledn said it will add XAUT to its lending platform alongside Bitcoin and Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT.
The addition would give XAUT holders a way to borrow against their tokenized gold positions while retaining ownership of the asset.
Each XAUT token represents one troy ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults, according to Tether.
The planned product also draws on Tether’s reported $23 billion physical gold reserve, which has become a larger part of the company’s broader digital asset strategy.
Gold-Backed Loans Follow Bitcoin Model
The proposed XAUT-backed lending structure will follow the collateral approach Ledn has used for bitcoin-backed loans. Ledn said client collateral is held on a one-to-one basis and is not lent out or used to generate yield.
That structure is designed to let users access liquidity while keeping their collateral position intact. In this case, holders would be able to borrow against tokenized bullion instead of selling their XAUT holdings.
Gold-backed lending has traditionally been handled by central banks, large financial institutions, and bullion dealers.
Tether and Ledn are seeking to move that type of lending arrangement on-chain through tokenized gold collateral.
“As digital assets become an increasingly important part of the global economy, demand is growing for solutions that combine long-term ownership with financial flexibility,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
Tether Expands Beyond Dollar Stablecoins
The planned XAUT lending product comes as Tether continues to broaden its business beyond USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin.
Profits from USDT have helped fund the company’s expansion into several areas outside dollar-pegged tokens.
Tether has invested in the precious metals marketplace Gold.com and partnered with crypto financing firm Antalpha on XAUT lending and physical redemption.
The company has also backed AI infrastructure provider Northern Data and committed capital to bitcoin mining and renewable energy projects.
The product would connect gold ownership with credit access through Ledn’s existing lending system.
The Ledn partnership is expected to expand the lender’s collateral options beyond its current supported assets. At the time of writing, XAUT traded at $4,070.34 per token.
