Tether launched Scudo, a fractional unit representing one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, through its XAUT token as institutional investors and central banks accumulated the precious metal at record levels. The stablecoin issuer announced the development on Tuesday, creating a smaller denomination comparable to satoshis in Bitcoin.
What Happened: Digital Gold Division
Tether introduced Scudo as a unit of account corresponding to 1/1,000 of an XAUT token, which is backed by more than 1,300 gold bars held in custody.
XAUT currently maintains a market capitalization of approximately $2.3 billion, according to the company.
The new unit addresses traditional barriers to gold ownership, including storage, custody and divisibility challenges that have historically constrained direct access to the precious metal.
Scudo builds on XAUT's existing tokenization framework by enabling smaller onchain transactions backed by physical gold.
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Why It Matters: Market Timing
Paolo Ardoino, Tether's chief executive, described gold as "the ultimate store of value alongside Bitcoin" in a social media post comparing Scudo to satoshis following a record-breaking year for bullion prices that climbed above $4,550 per troy ounce.
Precious metals posted a record year in 2025, with gold prices rising roughly 65% amid renewed de-dollarization efforts, aggressive central bank purchases and persistent inflation concerns among investors.
Silver prices climbed more than 140% during the year to reach about $80 per troy ounce.
Economist Peter Schiff described the surge as a sign that investors are bracing for what he called "the greatest inflation in US history," even as recent Consumer Price Index readings pointed to moderating inflation trends, and gold's advance highlighted a divergence with Bitcoin, which finished the year lower and showed limited evidence of safe-haven demand.
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