Core Insights - Tether Gold (XAUt) has surpassed a market capitalization of $1 billion, reflecting increased investor interest in tokenized real-world assets, driven by a significant rise in gold prices [1][2] - The market value of XAUt grew due to the underlying asset, with its total value crossing the billion-dollar mark at the beginning of October 2025 [2] - The success of XAUt and Paxos Gold (PAXG) indicates a duopoly in the digital gold market, providing investors with two billion-dollar options for blockchain-based gold exposure [3] Market Dynamics - XAUt's gold backing is held separately from Tether's general reserves, which include an additional $8.7 billion in gold bars supporting other stablecoins [3] - Regulatory oversight differs between the two tokens, with PAXG being issued by a regulated U.S. firm, while XAUt is issued by a Tether subsidiary licensed in El Salvador [4] - Transparency and reporting standards vary, as Paxos provides monthly audited reserve reports, whereas Tether offers quarterly attestations conducted by BDO Italia [5] User Base and Trading Volume - PAXG has a larger user base with over 74,000 holders and a daily trading volume of approximately $67 million, indicating stronger retail adoption [6] - XAUt has a more concentrated ownership with just over 12,000 holders and a daily volume of about $23 million, suggesting it may appeal more to larger, crypto-native holders or institutions [6] - The trends in user base and trading volume are significant as high gold prices could attract new investors to the digital gold space [6]