The Evolution of Gold in DeFi and What it Means for Bitcoin
Token Takeaway: XAUT, PAXG;
As the Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenisation sector accelerates, gold is finally starting to claim its place in crypto. With spot prices climbing, tokenised gold has seen a sharp rise in interest in 2025, and the sector is edging into the mainstream. In this piece, we’ll look at how gold has evolved in the digital landscape and where the market is heading. We will also examine what this shift means for Bitcoin, which has positioned itself as the de facto store of value in the digital asset space.
Introduction
Gold is one of the oldest recognised stores of value. It has survived the rise and fall of empires, the birth of modern banking, the shift to fiat currency, and every major financial shock in between. If anything, its recent price action only reinforces what history has shown for centuries. When uncertainty rises, investors still turn to gold.
Gold Price
This matters even more in a market where large-cap equities like Tesla can trade at price-to-earnings multiples above 280, and where memecoins with no real utility can reach valuations of tens of billions of dollars. Against that backdrop, gold’s appeal as a hedge against speculative excess becomes obvious. The latest rally reflects exactly that, driven by geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East, concerns about slowing job growth, trade wars, and hype around AI.
When there is uncertainty, risk assets like Bitcoin and the broader spectrum of cryptocurrencies are the first to be sold. You can clearly see that by the weakness in the BTC in Gold chart below.
Bitcoin (BTC) in Gold
All of this is familiar territory for anyone who follows traditional markets. Gold’s role as a safe haven has been well understood for decades. What’s more interesting today is how that role is starting to extend into decentralised finance.
Gold in DeFi
Tokenised gold has quietly become one of the most resilient corners of the RWA market. The sector is now worth $4bn, with most of that growth arriving in 2025, helped by the surge in demand for physical gold.
As traditional investors rotated into safe-haven assets, on-chain versions benefitted as well, proving that tokenisation isn’t limited to experimental assets; it can scale alongside traditional financial markets.
What Is Tokenised Gold?
Tokenised gold refers to digital tokens that represent ownership of physical gold held in custody by an issuer. Each token is backed on a one-to-one basis, with the underlying metal stored in a vault and the token issued on a public blockchain like Ethereum. This gives investors exposure to gold while retaining the additional benefits of crypto, such as 24-hour global trading, instant settlement, and the ability to use these assets within DeFi.
The State of the Tokenised Gold Market
Tokenised gold was one of the earliest successful attempts at bringing a real-world commodity on-chain, long before the wider RWA narrative burst into the mainstream. Currently, two tokens dominate the sector: Tether Gold (XAUT), launched in 2020, and Paxos Gold (PAXG), launched in 2019. Both are issued on Ethereum, and collectively they make up the bulk of the market. Notably, as illustrated by the chart below, 2025 has been a breakout year for tokenised gold.
