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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
The pair added that the price of gold surged in 2025 due to the current macroeconomic uncertainty, the high level of US government debt<\/a>, and geopolitical tensions that are reshaping the global monetary order.<\/p>\n Gold\u2019s price hits all-time highs against the US dollar. Source: <\/em>TradingView<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Geopolitical tensions fuel central bank shift toward gold, crypto \u2014 BlackRock exec<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Gold hit an all-time high of $3,500 per ounce<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Traders shifted to gold<\/a>, cash, and other safe-haven assets to weather the extreme volatility caused by the protectionist trade policies and the counter-response from other countries.<\/p>\n This rush to gold also caused gold-backed cryptocurrencies such as Paxos Gold (PAXG<\/a>) and Tether Gold (XAUT<\/a>) to spike in price<\/a> during April 2024.<\/p>\n The Volatility S&P Index (VIX) tracks the volatility of the US stock market and surged following Trump\u2019s tariff announcement. Source: <\/em>TradingView<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser argued that gold-backed tokens will outcompete fiat stablecoins<\/a> due to the lack of geopolitical risk and inflationary resistance inherent in gold.<\/p>\n “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<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The United States dollar has no volatility, but you are guaranteed to lose purchasing power,” the BTC advocate continued.<\/p>\n Gold’s current rally could spill over into Bitcoin<\/a> 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.<\/p>\nMacroeconomic uncertainty spikes gold prices, leaves USD in doubt<\/h2>\n