Gold prices are expected to continue rising to $3,900 per ounce: An overview of the top 5 gold tokens

Author: Wenser

On September 2, spot gold surged over 1% intraday, surpassing $3,510/oz and reaching a record high of $3,512.27/oz. On the morning of the 3rd, spot gold spiked more than $10 in a short period, peaking at $3,547/oz and setting another new high. Surprisingly, there are reports that the World Gold Council is seeking to launch "digital gold", which could potentially transform London’s $900 billions physical gold market. In this article, Odaily summarizes recent gold price trends, industry developments, and mainstream gold tokenization projects for readers’ reference.

Gold Surges Again, Analysts Predict Gold Price May Rise to $3,900/oz

On September 1, spot gold stood at $3,470/oz, hitting a new high since April 22 this year, with a daily increase of 0.67%.

Subsequently, within just two days, the gold price quickly broke above $3,500 and gradually stabilized, leading the industry to become highly bullish on the future trend of gold prices.

Analyst: Gold Price Expected to Reach $3,600-$3,900/oz in the Coming Months

Philip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva stated in a report that if spot gold continues to break through $3,500, the price could reach the $3,600-$3,900/oz range in the coming months. She said that the US’s aggressive tariff stance has increased geopolitical risks and fueled safe-haven investments. She noted that expectations of interest rate cuts, political turmoil, and strong ETF demand have turned gold from a tactical hedge into a strategic must-have asset for many investors. Sachdeva believes that the $3,800/oz target could be the first clear psychological barrier for gold to break past its current high.

Financial Times: World Gold Council Plans to Launch "Digital Gold"

According to the Financial Times, the World Gold Council (WGC) is seeking to launch a digital form of gold, a move that could create a new way to trade, settle, and collateralize gold, thereby fundamentally changing London’s $900 billions physical gold market.

World Gold Council CEO David Tait said in an interview that this new form will make it possible for “gold to be delivered digitally as collateral for the first time within the gold ecosystem.” Although many investors value gold for its physical nature and lack of counterparty risk, seeing it as a safe-haven asset, Tait believes gold must be digitized to expand its market reach. Tait stated: “We are trying to build a standardized digital layer for gold so that all kinds of financial products used in other markets can be applied to the gold market in the future. My goal is to get many global asset managers to re-examine gold.”

This move is seen as the World Gold Council’s response to the new financial investment environment—although gold has traditionally been regarded as a safe-haven asset due to its physical properties and lack of counterparty risk, many banks and investors see gold as an illiquid and non-yielding asset. As Tait said: “For banks, just from a collateral perspective, they can make huge profits—because they have the opportunity to use gold on their balance sheets as collateral.”

It is understood that the plan is mainly driven by a new digital division called “pooled gold interests (PGIs),” which will allow banks and investors to buy and sell fractional ownership of physical gold stored in segregated accounts. In Q1 2026, commercial institutions in London will participate in a pilot of this model.

Currently, trading in the London gold market is divided into “allocated gold” transactions (involving specific gold bars) and “unallocated gold” transactions (only specifying the quantity of gold, not specific bars). The emergence of “digital gold” may add a third type to London’s over-the-counter gold trading.

Market Status: Gold Tokenization Projects’ Market Cap Less Than 1% of Gold ETF Market Cap

According to Coingecko data, the total market cap of the tokenized gold market is currently around $2.6 billions. In comparison, the gold ETF market has a market cap as high as $400 billions, meaning the former is less than 1% of the latter. Thus, the gold tokenization market is still in its early stages with huge growth potential. Below are introductions to specific gold tokenization projects:

XAUT: Backed by Tether, Market Cap $1.32 billions

According to on-chain data, Tether minted 129,000 tokens on Ethereum in early August, now worth about $455 millions, bringing its current market cap to $1.32 billions.

Previously, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that if Tether were considered a “country,” its physical gold holdings would rank in the top 40; in July, Tether released an XAUT audit report stating that at that time, the XAUT token circulation was 246,524.330 tokens (now grown to about 375,572), and the circulating XAUT tokens were backed by more than 7.66 tons of physical gold.

PAXG: Backed by Paxos, Market Cap About $1 billion

PAXG was launched by US stablecoin company Paxos, and its market cap has soared to a record high of over $1 billion in the past three months. Since June, the token has seen continuous net inflows, with a single-month inflow reaching $141.5 millions. The current circulating supply is 282,566 tokens.

KAU: Backed by Kinesis & ABX, Market Cap About $160 millions

KAU was launched by Kinesis, a UK digital asset utility platform registered in the Cayman Islands. Each KAU is pegged to 1 gram of investment-grade gold stored in Kinesis vaults. Unlike other gold tokens, KAU supports purchase, trading, spending, and transfer. In addition to redemption, users holding assets on the Kinesis platform can earn monthly income from redistributed transaction fee revenue; spending KAU on the Kinesis virtual card also earns rewards, and the card supports buying gold, silver, and cryptocurrencies in real time at over 80 million locations worldwide.

XAUm: Backed by Matrixport, Market Cap About $47 millions

In early August, Matrixport announced the official launch of the XAUm fixed income product, supporting investment cycles ranging from 7 to 365 days and supporting 15 mainstream assets including BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, and USDT. In addition, the Matrixport platform supports XAUm Mint, Swap, and XAUm collateralized lending. The token is issued by Matrixport’s RWA tokenization platform Matrixdock; last month, it completed its second annual 100% gold reserve audit by the internationally renowned company CoinWealth, and its gold management scale increased by 500% within six months.

VRO: Backed by VeraOne, Market Cap About $41 millions

VRO was launched by VeraOne, based in London, UK. The project was jointly launched by the AuCOFFRE.com group and crypto industry figure Owen Simonin. It was originally established in 2019, with the token price currently around $113 and relatively limited liquidity.

Below is the basic information of the main projects (compiled from @Grok):

Conclusion: Gold’s Safe-Haven and Tax-Free Attributes

It is worth noting that the recent surge in gold prices is not unrelated to the performance of the US dollar and US Treasury bonds. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio recently stated: The poor debt situation of the US dollar has indirectly pushed up the price of gold; international investors have begun shifting from US Treasuries to gold. US President Trump stated in August that “gold will not be taxed.”

Now, gold tokens that combine gold’s safe-haven and tax-free attributes may become an investment choice for more and more people.

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