XAUT trading volume hits 2026 peak as tokenized gold demand surges

Gold regained momentum as an investment option in August, with significant interest from both traditional investors and participants in the cryptocurrency market. Tokenized gold assets such as Tether Gold (XAUT) experienced rising demand, as traders turned to them as hedges against inflation and for speculative purposes. Tokenized gold assets grow in popularity Despite being below its all-time highs, tokenized gold climbed toward $4,600 before retreating to around $4,480. At the close of this rally, XAUT traded at $4,474.72. Throughout August, XAUT trading volumes remained elevated, reaching some of their highest levels for 2026 as decentralized exchange (DEX) activity increased. Tether, a major stablecoin issuer, drives this sector with XAUT, a token backed by physical gold. Over the past three months, Tether issued additional XAUT supply to meet growing market appetite. As of September 2026, the overall value of XAUT reached $3.15 billion, with an extra $59 million entering the tokenized gold market by September 4. A total of $2.39 million in XAUT trades on Uniswap V3, contributing to a broader surge in on-chain gold transactions. XAUT and Pax Gold (PAXG) now represent the largest shares of tokenized gold trading on decentralized markets. Token Current Price DEX Trading Volume (Aug 2026) Total Supply Value XAUT $4,474.72 Near peak for 2026 $3.15B PAXG Similar to gold price High Not specified XAUT is also increasingly used as collateral for decentralized lending and has been integrated into the Lighter platform, further supporting the perpetual futures market. Mini dictionary: Lighter, a decentralized exchange and derivatives platform, enables users to trade various perpetual futures contracts using cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets as collateral. Futures and whale activities on the rise Gold perpetual futures returned to prominence on the HIP-3 market, with open interest rising to $750 million and daily volumes reaching $299 million. Most large investors, known as whales, are positioned long in gold contracts. The largest whale currently holds more than $273,000 in unrealized gains, while the biggest short position faces unrealized losses of $2.2 million as of September 4. Whale positions in XAUT have grown increasingly significant, with several wallets now holding millions in gold-backed tokens and maintaining their assets rather than cashing out. Market participants attribute gold’s resurgence partly to the volatile trend in semiconductor stocks and ongoing uncertainty stemming from geopolitical tensions in Iran and inflationary pressures worldwide. AI agent Antalpha emerges as major gold holder A single whale wallet has contributed to XAUT’s rise, identified with high probability as controlled by the Antalpha AI agent. Over the past month, the AI agent has accumulated multiple increments of 1,000 XAUT, purchasing while gold was trading closer to $4,000 per ounce and currently realizing capital gains on its holdings.