Tokenized Gold Surges Amid Crypto Sell-Off, Hits $2B Market Cap

Amid market-wide turbulence and tariff uncertainties, tokenized gold stood out as a top performer while risk assets like cryptocurrencies faltered. As of Wednesday, the market capitalization of gold-backed tokens surged to nearly $2 billion, rising 5.7% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. This coincided with physical gold briefly hitting a new all-time high of $3,170 per ounce, data from TradingView shows.

Fueled by investor demand and macroeconomic instability, tokenized gold saw a surge in activity. Weekly trading volume for gold tokens surpassed $1 billion—the highest since the U.S. banking crisis in March 2023, per digital asset platform CEX.IO. Major tokens Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) led the rally, with weekly trading volumes soaring over 900% and 300%, respectively, since January 20. PAXG alone attracted $63 million in inflows, according to DefiLlama.

The spike mirrors physical gold’s strong performance in 2025, driven by inflation fears and geopolitical tensions. Despite a brief 6% dip triggered by tariff-related sell-offs, gold quickly rebounded to record highs.

Since January 20, tokenized gold has outperformed nearly all crypto sectors in market cap growth. CEX.IO data shows tokenized gold rising 21%, while stablecoins grew 8%. In contrast, bitcoin dropped 19%, and the broader crypto market declined 26%.

CEX.IO VP Alexandr Kerya noted that tokenized gold is becoming a key diversification tool for crypto investors, offering the security of a physical asset while staying within the digital ecosystem. He added that the growing real-world asset (RWA) trend is making gold more accessible for new investors.

Tokenized gold’s resilience highlights its value as a stable, blockchain-based hedge during volatile times.