11 best gold-backed cryptos offering real asset security in 2025

The early months of 2025 have ushered in a flurry of changes in financial markets, primarily caused by the new US presidential administration of Donald Trump. Drastic cuts to US public spending, the threat of tariff wars and a new paradigm in the relationship between the US and its trading partners have unnerved markets and caused stock prices and investor sentiment to take a hit. As stocks have dived, the crypto market has also slowed, reflecting the overall negative outlook prevalent among investors across different markets.

The world's primary precious metal commodity, gold, is surging in an atmosphere of largely declining investor sentiment. This is hardly surprising to anyone familiar with the history of financial markets. The yellow metal has always done well when stocks are getting hammered and the outlook for growth-dependent assets is souring. As of the time of this writing on Mar 24, 2025, gold’s price has appreciated by around 5% over the past 10 days. This change might seem insignificant to crypto investors, who are used to much more volatile swings in the price of their assets. Still, it represents a notable weekly jump for gold, an asset known for its price stability and low volatility. 

As gold rallies, many in the crypto investment world are turning their attention to a previously unassuming category of the market — gold-backed cryptocurrencies. While the broader crypto market is rather lethargic, cryptocurrencies in this category are posting weekly growth rates that virtually mirror the growth in the price of gold. If you’re a crypto investor looking for a safe harbor in these times of uncertainty, gold-backed tokens might just be the answer. In this article, we’ll cover the top 11 gold-backed cryptos as of Mar 24, 2025, which together make up nearly the entirety of this small category's total market capitalization.

Key Takeaways:

• Gold-backed cryptocurrencies are on-chain assets secured by physical gold reserves held by their issuers or authorized third-party custodians.

• Tether Gold (XAUt) and Pax Gold (PAXG) are the leading cryptos in this area, together holding around three-quarters of the niche's total market capitalization.

What is a gold-backed cryptocurrency?

A gold-backed cryptocurrency is a tokenized digital asset whose value is typically supported by reserves held in gold. In some cases, the token issuer holds the gold reserves used to back the cryptocurrency. In other cases, a third-party trusted custodian maintains the reserves of the underlying physical gold on behalf of the issuer.

The earliest notable gold-backed cryptocurrencies were launched around 2019–2020. Among these are Tether Gold (XAUt), introduced in 2020, and Pax Gold (PAXG), which debuted in 2019. Another notable player in this area, Perth Mint Gold Token (PMGT), operated between 2019 and 2023.

Gold-backed cryptos let you turn gold ownership into a more flexible and liquid form for on-chain use, e.g., in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Besides buying gold crypto assets as a hedge against the volatile crypto market, you can also trade gold and other asset classes — such as crypto, forex and market indices — via Bybit Gold&FX Trading. This product lets you access multi-asset trading opportunities alongside benefits like high leverages of up to 500x, tight spreads, competitive fees and 24/7 support.

How do gold-backed cryptocurrencies work?

As noted above, gold-backed cryptocurrencies are based on physical gold reserves. The exact mechanics of the reserve maintenance can vary. Some projects store the gold themselves, while others rely on external custodians to handle the storage.

These cryptocurrencies appeal to investors who want crypto exposure, but prefer a real-world asset's security. Gold serves as an excellent backing for a digital asset, as it’s a well-established and widely respected commodity. During market downturns, as stocks and cryptocurrencies plunge, gold tends to rise in value, potentially lifting gold-backed cryptos up with it.

Like any other asset on the market, gold-backed tokens have unique pros and cons. One con is that in a booming market, they tend to offer lower returns as compared to standard cryptocurrencies or other high-growth assets. Another drawback is the lack of unified regulatory mechanisms to ensure that the gold reserves actually exist, are maintained at the claimed levels and are held by a trustworthy party. Sufficient liquidity can also be an issue for smaller projects.

On the positive side, the biggest advantage of these assets is security during bear markets: as financial markets turn south, gold-backed cryptos are more likely to hold their value than other cryptocurrencies. Another key pro is owning tokens propped up by a real-world asset — an excellent way to silence crypto skeptics who constantly claim that these assets have no intrinsic value behind them.

11 top gold-backed cryptocurrencies

The 11 gold-backed crypto assets we list below represent nearly the entire market niche. As of mid-March 2025, the CoinGecko portal lists only 12 cryptos with reportable market caps under the category of "Tokenized Gold."

Their prices, caps, growth rates and other relevant statistics are valid as of this writing. Naturally, this data may change substantially, given the volatile nature of the crypto market. However, the backing by gold normally gives these assets a somewhat higher degree of stability as compared to other types of cryptocurrencies (sans stablecoins, of course).

1. Tether Gold (XAUt)

Launched in 2020, Tether Gold (XAUt) is the most dominant gold-backed cryptocurrency on the market. It was introduced by Tether Limited Inc., the company behind USDT, the world’s most traded crypto asset.

Each XAUt token is backed by one troy ounce of gold, with the physical gold bars securely stored in Swiss vaults. Holders can redeem their XAUt for physical gold at any time. However, to do so, you’ll need to have enough XAUt tokens for the price of a full London Good Delivery physical gold bullion bar (approximately 400 troy ounces/XAUt). If you own less XAUt than that, swapping it for other assets, typically USDT, is the more practical option. You can trade the XAUt token on Bybit Web3 DEX Pro in a decentralized way via Ethereum (ETH).

Over the past 10 days, XAUt's value has grown by 5% — exactly in line with the price of gold, which XAUt closely tracks. Launched on Ethereum as an ERC-20 asset, XAUt has long been the leader of the Tokenized Gold category. With a market cap of approximately $744 million, XAUt is currently trading at $3,023.24.

2. Pax Gold (PAXG)

Pax Gold (PAXG) is this niche's confident runner-up, right behind XAUt. Each of its tokens is also backed by one troy ounce of gold, with the actual gold held in the London-based vaults of Brinks Security, a multinational cash-handling security company. Launched in 2019 by the New York–based Paxos Trust Company, the token has a market cap of $652 million. PAXG and XAUt dominate the gold-backed crypto market, together holding around three-quarters of the category's total market capitalization. As it also tracks the price of one ounce of gold, PAXG has appreciated by around 5% over the past 10 days.

You can trade PAXG on Bybit as a perpetual futures contract based on USDT.

3. Quorium Gold (QGOLD)

Quorium Gold (QGOLD) is the third-highest-capped gold-backed crypto at the moment, with a market cap of $253 million. Similar to XAUt and PAXG, QGOLD is backed by and tracks the price of one troy ounce of gold.

The project was launched in late 2023 on BNB Chain (BNB) by Quorium, a company committed to sustainable mining. QGOLD is backed primarily by verified untapped gold reserves, as certified by the NI 43-101 reports overseen by the Canadian Securities Administrators. While Quorium also engages in mining to grow its reserves, its main focus remains on leveraging existing, verified untapped gold.

4. Kinesis gold (KAU)

Kinesis gold (KAU) is a gold-backed cryptocurrency launched by the Cayman Islands–based blockchain finance company Kinesis. The KAU token is backed by one gram, rather than an ounce, of gold, and therefore has a unit price quite different from the cryptos we’ve covered above. It currently trades at around $97, similar to the actual price of gold, and has a market cap of $139 million.

Kinesis partners with the leading gold Allocated Bullion Exchange (ABX) — an international institutional exchange company with an extensive vaulting network, including Malca-Amit and Loomis International, along with other vault partners such as Brinks — to manage the gold reserves that back KAU.

5. VeraOne (VRO)

Similar to KAU, VeraOne (VRO) is backed by one gram of physical gold from the recycling industry. This environmentally-friendly project is among the older gold-backed cryptocurrencies. Launched in May 2020 on Ethereum by the UK-based LinGOLD Ltd., VeraOne's gold is not only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)–compliant, but also made with the maximum purity of 999.9 (or 99.99% pure), and can be converted into physical form in legal tender recognized by the Government of Gibraltar. VeraOne maintains its gold reserves at Geneva Freeport, a top-security warehouse in Switzerland.

VRO currently holds a market cap of almost $29 million, which sounds modest by the standards of the entire crypto market, but still makes the token the fifth-highest-capped asset in the Tokenized Gold category.

6. Novem Gold Token (NNN)

The Novem Gold Token (NNN) is a gold-backed crypto launched in 2022 by the Austria-based Novem Gold Blockchain GmbH. The token is based on BNB Chain, and is backed by the company's gold reserves held in Austria, which are stored in a secure in-house vault.

Novem's NNN token can be easily redeemed for gold bars at various LBMA-accredited dealers. NNN currently has a market cap of $23 million.

7. Gold DAO (GLDT)

Gold DAO (GOLDAO) and Gold Token (GLDT) are related tokenized gold cryptocurrencies launched by the Gold DAO decentralized project on the Internet Computer (ICP) blockchain. GOLDAO serves as the project's primary governance token for the DAO, while GLDT is the main utility asset that represents tokenized gold and allows for flexible and liquid cross-chain trading. Every 100 GLDT is equivalent to 1 gram of gold.

The physical gold backing the project's tokens is held in Switzerland, and the vaults are regularly audited by third parties, including KPMG, one of the world's leading auditors.

GOLDAO currently has a market cap of $12 million, while GLDT's cap is just $610,000, the lowest figure among all tokenized gold cryptocurrencies with reportable caps.

8. Comtech Gold (CGO)

Comtech Gold (CGO) is another token whose value and backing are based on one gram of gold of 999.9 purity. Launched in 2022 on the XDC Network/XinFin blockchain by the Dubai-based ComTech Gold, the Shariah-compliant project focuses on meeting the needs for digital tokenized gold products in the Middle East region.

The physical gold is stored and insured with Transguard Group, a trusted security solutions organization in the UAE. It can be redeemed at any time, with a minimum redemption amount of just 10 grams. ComTech Gold is regulated by the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) and endorsed by local UAE government body DMCC.

CGO has a market cap of $10.65 million and trades at around $97, similar to most other cryptos tracking the price of one gram of gold.

9. tGOLD (tXAU)

tGOLD (tXAU) was launched in late 2022 by Aurus, another Dubai-based fintech company. The tXAU token is based on Ethereum and Polygon (POL). Each tXAU token is backed by LBMA-certified gold. Aurus states on their website that the reserves backing tXAU are securely held in vaults and regularly audited, though no specifics on the vault locations are provided.

tGOLD currently has a market cap of $7.92 million. Note that, although the token is said to be backed by one gram of gold, its current price is $84.84, notably lower than gold's price of $97. This discrepancy could be due to the token's current supply-and-demand dynamics.

10. VNX Gold (VNXAU)

VNX Gold (VNXAU) is a multichain token backed by LBMA-grade gold held in vaults in Lichtenstein, and registered with the Financial Market Authority (FMA) Liechtenstein. While this tiny European country isn't the most common choice for tokenized gold projects, it features a solidly stable economy and high regulatory standards in its financial sector. Among the major chains on which VNXAU is present are Ethereum, Solana (SOL) and Polygon.

VNXAU currently has a market cap of just $2.55 million.

11. Kinka (XNK)

Kinka (XNK) is an ERC-20 crypto token that tracks the price of one fine troy ounce of gold with a purity of 99.9%, was launched in March 2024 on Ethereum by Kinka (BVI) Ltd. In September 2024, the project also established its presence on Cardano (ADA).

The gold bullion that’s used is provided by Kinka's parent company, Daiichi Commodities Company Ltd., a leading gold-trading company in Japan. This gold meets the standards set by LBMA, and is stored in Loomis International's high-security warehouses around the world.

Besides being available on several crypto exchanges, including Uniswap (UNI), XNK can be purchased directly from the issuer's website. This over-the-counter (OTC) option requires a minimum order of 0.1 ETH.

XNK's current market cap stands at close to $1.5 million.

Closing thoughts

Highly valued throughout the history of human civilization, gold remains among the most popular assets in modern financial markets as well. The world's premier precious metal is an excellent hedge against volatility and bear markets, and owning tokenized gold is also a great way to hold an asset with real-world backing and additional trading capabilities.

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