Wintermute launched institutional over-the-counter (OTC) trading in digital tokens backed by gold. The company expects the tokenized gold market to reach $15 billion in 2026.
Market maker Wintermute announced its expansion into the tokenized commodities market. The company began processing OTC transactions for institutional clients in Pax Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT), the two largest tokens by market cap backed by physical gold.
Wintermute intends to offer algorithmically optimized spot trades for large counterparties seeking exposure to gold with blockchain-based settlement. Trading will be available in pairs with USDT, USDC, fiat, and major crypto-assets, enabling efficient hedging and the use of tokens as collateral.
According to Wintermute, cited by The Block, tokenized gold trading volume reached $126 billion in Q4 2025, surpassing for the first time the combined turnover of the five largest gold-focused exchange-traded funds (ETF). At the same time, the market capitalization of tokenized gold grew by more than 80% over three months, from $2.99 billion to $5.4 billion.
Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said in a press release that gold is undergoing the same infrastructural evolution that once transformed the foreign exchange market into the largest market in the world. The company expects the tokenized gold market to reach $15 billion in 2026 as institutional demand continues to grow.
Rising interest in digital gold comes amid macroeconomic uncertainty and elevated metal prices near historic highs. In an interview with CNBC, Gaevoy stated that the market is experiencing a price correction rather than technological issues, meaning capital isn’t leaving crypto infrastructure but is instead being reallocated within it. At the same time, some investors are choosing tokenized instruments over traditional gold or ETFs.
Gaevoy also pointed to a structural liquidity shift in 2025, when trading volumes on traditional venues were on certain days comparable to the largest crypto exchanges. Investors had to factor in fund inflows and outflows from gold-focused ETFs, as well as their premiums and discounts relative to net asset value.
These trends align with broader growth in the tokenized real-world assets (RWA) segment. According to ARK Invest, tokenized assets could exceed $11 trillion by 2030. Standard Chartered forecasts that the tokenized RWA market will reach $2 trillion by 2028. In 2025, the volume of tokenized assets on public blockchains surpassed $18.5 billion, with annual growth of ~240%.
Wintermute emphasizes that further recovery of the crypto market will depend not only on institutional investors but also on the return of retail participants. However, tokenized gold already demonstrates that blockchain infrastructure is gradually integrating into global financial processes, and 2026 could become a pivotal year for digital capital markets.
