Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s international financial center, recognized Tether Gold (XAUT), a gold-backed token, as an eligible commodity for spot trading. The decision makes tokenized gold available within the regulated infrastructure of one of the Middle East’s largest financial centers.
Tether said XAUT was added to the Accepted Spot Commodities list, which includes assets approved for spot transactions under ADGM’s regulatory framework. The new status provides licensed market participants with a clearer path to launching products and services tied to the digital asset, which is backed by physical gold.
Each full XAUT token represents one fine troy ounce of gold, or about 31.1 grams. The underlying gold is stored in London Good Delivery standard bullion bars. Token holders gain a digital asset whose value is linked to physical gold, while transactions are processed through blockchain infrastructure.
The recognition followed Tether’s engagement with ADGM regulators on resilience, transparency, and compliance with the financial center’s regulatory requirements.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino called the decision an important step for the tokenized real world asset (RWA) market and the development of regulated digital finance in the Middle East. He said the United Arab Emirates continues to establish rules that enable the practical use of digital financial instruments, including at the institutional level.
According to data cited by Tether, the total value of tokenized real world assets recorded on distributed ledgers exceeded $31 billion, up from about $6.6 billion a year earlier. Over the past 12 months, the market expanded by nearly 4.7x, or approximately 370%.
Tether said it’ll continue working with regulators, licensed companies, and partners across the UAE and other countries in the region. The company said its primary objective is to support the adoption of digital assets in line with transparency, regulatory oversight, and market integrity requirements.
Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, said recognizing XAUT expands the range of products and services available to companies operating within the financial center. He also linked the decision to the continued development of Abu Dhabi’s regulated market for digital and tokenized assets.
In December 2024, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) approved the use of the U.S. dollar stablecoin USDT within the ADGM free economic zone.
