Tether Pushes Tokenized Gold Toward Payments With Scudo Rollout

Core Insights - Tether has launched Scudo, a new unit of account for Tether Gold (XAUT), aimed at enhancing the pricing, transfer, and usability of gold in everyday transactions as global gold prices and demand reach record highs due to inflation concerns and central bank buying [1][2] Group 1: Scudo's Functionality - Scudo represents one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, creating a smaller and more intuitive denomination for XAUT, similar to how Bitcoin uses satoshis [4] - By using Scudo for transactions instead of fractional ounces, users can price goods and services more naturally, improving gold's viability as both a store of value and a medium of exchange [5] - Scudo does not change the backing or structure of XAUT, which remains fully collateralized by physical gold, but provides a more accessible measurement layer as adoption increases [8] Group 2: Market Context and Infrastructure - Gold has seen a resurgence as a protective asset against inflation and macroeconomic volatility, with its usability as a medium of exchange declining since the shift to fiat currencies [2] - Tether's introduction of Scudo is part of a broader infrastructure initiative, including a technology layer for developers to create self-custodial wallets supporting XAU₮, other stablecoins, and Bitcoin [6] - Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, emphasized that Scudo lowers barriers to entry for gold ownership and transactions, addressing user experience challenges in the digital asset industry [7]