Tether’s tokenized gold token, XAUT, is increasingly being utilized as collateral within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. As of early September 2026, total deposits of XAUT across approximately ten platforms reached $102.9 million, marking the first time the figure exceeded the $100 million threshold.
Aave currently dominates this sector, holding 74.2% of all XAUT DeFi deposits, primarily through its V3 and V4 markets. Deposits on Aave grew from $40 million in early June 2026 to approximately $76.7 million by mid-August, representing a 91.7% increase over ten weeks. The newer V4 markets attracted $8 million in net inflows over 90 days.
Uniswap remains a key venue for trading XAUT, with its V3 pools holding $16.5 million in liquidity as of mid-2026. However, its market share is declining as users shift toward Aave’s lending products, where XAUT serves as an ERC-20 token for backing stablecoin loans while maintaining exposure to gold price fluctuations.
Despite the growth, XAUT tokens locked in lending pools account for only 1.5% of the combined market capitalization of XAUT and PAXG. In late September 2026, Tether minted 119,670 additional XAUT tokens valued at approximately $495 million, backed by physical gold stored in Swiss vaults, significantly increasing the total on-chain supply.
