Stablecoin issuer Tether announced on Tuesday that it has introduced a new unit of account called “Scudo” for Tether Gold (XAUT), its gold-backed digital token, in a move aimed at making small-value gold transactions more intuitive and accessible.
? Tether announced the launch of Scudo — a new settlement unit for the Tether Gold (XAU₮) token, equal to one thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, designed to simplify everyday settlements in "digital gold" and make fractional ownership more convenient.https://t.co/o3yH76lSqF… pic.twitter.com/XphWYwfB7I
— TON Monitoring (@tonmonitoring) January 6, 2026
A New Unit Designed for Micro Gold Transactions
According to Tether, one Scudo represents exactly one-thousandth (1/1,000) of a troy ounce of gold, making it equivalent to 1/1,000 of one XAUT token. The new denomination is designed to eliminate the complexity of dealing with long decimal values when trading fractional amounts of tokenized gold.
As gold prices have surged to record highs in USD terms, users increasingly face cumbersome calculations when buying or transferring small portions of gold. Tether said the introduction of Scudo directly addresses this practical challenge.
The concept is comparable to Bitcoin’s smallest unit, the Satoshi, which enables microtransactions by breaking down one BTC into smaller, easy-to-handle denominations. Similarly, Scudo aims to make gold more usable in everyday digital financial activity.
Tether emphasized that the launch of Scudo does not alter XAUT’s underlying structure, backing, or redemption mechanism. Each XAUT token remains fully backed by physical gold stored in Swiss vaults, with holders retaining direct ownership claims on the underlying metal.
Rising Gold Demand Meets Digital Friction
The move comes amid record global gold prices and a sharp rise in demand for gold as an inflation hedge. Throughout 2025, gold prices in USD climbed significantly, driven by persistent inflation concerns, interest rate uncertainty, and aggressive gold accumulation by central banks.
While gold remains one of the most trusted stores of value, Tether noted that its usability as a medium of exchange has lagged, particularly in digital environments. The difficulty of pricing and transacting fractional gold amounts has been a recurring friction point for users.
Tether also pointed to the long-term inflationary pressure created by fiat currency expansion, arguing that interest in neutral stores of value such as gold is resurging among both institutional and retail investors. In this context, Scudo is positioned as a tool to enhance gold’s practicality without compromising its role as a hedge.
For long-term crypto investors seeking diversification and capital preservation, gold-backed digital assets like XAUT continue to gain appeal.
Infrastructure Expansion and Market Growth
The rollout of Scudo forms part of Tether’s broader strategy to modernize access to traditional asset classes through blockchain infrastructure.
Alongside Scudo, Tether has released new technical layers that enable companies, developers, and AI-driven crypto agents to deploy self-custody wallets capable of handling XAUT, other stablecoins, and Bitcoin.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that gold, alongside Bitcoin, is once again proving its role as an ultimate store of value. He added that lowering barriers to ownership, pricing, and transfer is essential, noting that user experience remains one of the biggest challenges in the digital asset industry.
Market data shows that Tether Gold’s market capitalization doubled within several months leading up to December 2025, reflecting strong demand for gold exposure without the complexities of physical storage or custody.
Tether believes Scudo could strengthen gold’s role in both value preservation and exchange within the digital economy, enabling simpler pricing, accounting, and more seamless participation in everyday financial activity.
