Gold-backed stablecoins surge to $4B in 2025 as one issuer amasses bullion, two tokens dominate
Gold-backed stablecoins nearly tripled to about $4 billion market capitalization in 2025, driven by rising bullion prices, macroeconomic uncertainty and large vault accumulation by major issuers. Two tokens now control roughly 90% of tokenized gold; the market leader expanded supply during 2025 and holds roughly 50% of the market. A prominent issuer has quietly amassed physical gold reserves large enough to place it among notable institutional holders by IMF-comparable standards. Tokenized gold provides fractional, blockchain-based claims on vaulted physical bullion, attracting retail and institutional demand for liquidity, transparency and cross-border transferability. Key metrics: ~3x growth since early 2025, ~$4B market cap, two tokens ≈90% market share, top issuer ≈50% share. Implications for traders include concentration risk (two tokens dominate supply), tighter peg correlation to spot gold, potential liquidity benefits for on-chain trading, and counterparty/vault risk tied to issuer reserve practices.
Bullish
The news is generally bullish for the price and adoption of gold-backed stablecoins. Rapid growth to ~$4B market cap and ~3x expansion since early 2025 indicates strong demand, while rising spot gold and issuer vault accumulation support token backing and perceived intrinsic value. Greater institutional and retail adoption driven by liquidity and cross-border transferability increases on-chain trading volume and market depth, which can support price stability and tighter pegs to physical gold. However, the concentration risk — two tokens holding ~90% of supply and a single issuer owning ~50% — introduces counterparty and custody concentration risks that could trigger volatility if questions arise about reserves or redemption practices. In the short term, price action for these tokens is likely to be positive as demand and spot-gold correlation strengthen. In the medium to long term, the market will price in issuer transparency and reserve audits; any negative revelations could produce sharp downside moves for the affected tokens, while continued transparent reserve accumulation and institutional uptake would sustain a bullish trend.