Tokenized gold carries several benefits over other forms of paper gold, including gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Melissa Song and Dustin Becker, representatives of Gold DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that facilitates investor access to tokenized gold.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, the DAO representatives outlined three major benefits unique to tokenized gold, including 1:1 redeemability for a specific quantity of physical, serialized gold, usage as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and transactional efficiency through on-demand liquidity.
“When you buy an ETF, you are betting on the gold price going up, but you do not own any specific gold bar,” Song told Cointelegraph.
The pair added that the price of gold surged in 2025 due to the current macroeconomic uncertainty, the high level of US government debt, and geopolitical tensions that are reshaping the global monetary order.
Gold’s price hits all-time highs against the US dollar. Source: TradingView
Related: Geopolitical tensions fuel central bank shift toward gold, crypto — BlackRock exec
Macroeconomic uncertainty spikes gold prices, leaves USD in doubt
Gold hit an all-time high of $3,500 per ounce in April 2025 amid the trade tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump that caused turmoil in risk-on asset markets like stocks and crypto.
Traders shifted to gold, cash, and other safe-haven assets to weather the extreme volatility caused by the protectionist trade policies and the counter-response from other countries.
This rush to gold also caused gold-backed cryptocurrencies such as Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) to spike in price during April 2024.
The Volatility S&P Index (VIX) tracks the volatility of the US stock market and surged following Trump’s tariff announcement. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser argued that gold-backed tokens will outcompete fiat stablecoins due to the lack of geopolitical risk and inflationary resistance inherent in gold.
“A stablecoin backed by Gold would out-compete a USD-backed stablecoin in world markets: Russia, China, and Iran should take note,” Keiser wrote in a March 22 X post.
“The United States dollar has no volatility, but you are guaranteed to lose purchasing power,” the BTC advocate continued.
Gold’s current rally could spill over into Bitcoin if investors shift from viewing Bitcoin as a risk asset to more of a store of value in turbulent economic times that is counter-cyclical to the stock market and other speculative investments.
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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
