The market capitalization of tokenized gold has surged to $4.4 billion, reflecting significant growth over the past year. This sector has seen an increase of nearly $2.8 billion in value, rising from approximately $1.6 billion in market cap. The growth rate of 177% has far exceeded that of the traditional gold market and major spot gold ETFs.
Trading activity has also seen remarkable increases, with tokenized gold achieving about $178 billion in total volume for 2025. The fourth quarter alone recorded peak trading above $126 billion, positioning it as the second-largest gold investment product by trading volume, following SPDR Gold Shares.
As futures markets close for the weekend at 5:00 pm ET on Fridays and reopen at 6:00 pm ET on Sundays, nearly all trading occurs in private over-the-counter deals, particularly in Asia. This inactivity in regulated futures markets leads to a reliance on blockchain networks for price discovery, with former Credit Suisse CIO Iggy Ioppe noting that these markets account for nearly all price formation during weekends.
With the rise in trading volume, the number of holders of tokenized gold has nearly tripled, surpassing 115,000 new wallets. Market makers and liquidity providers play a crucial role in navigating price differences between digital and traditional markets, further propelling the growth of this asset class.