Tokenised gold has outperformed other crypto assets in 2026, with protocols seeing double-digit growth while most DeFi deposits plummet. Gold prices hit record highs, driven by political uncertainties, boosting interest in gold-backed tokens. South Korean investors are particularly drawn to these assets to avoid taxes on physical gold.
In 2026, tokenisation protocols overall have expanded by double digits, but gold-pegged variants have led the pack. According to DefiLlama data, Tether Gold increased 62% to $3.7 billion since January 1, while Paxos Gold rose 48% to $2.4 billion. Smaller players like Pleasing Gold grew 21% to a $102 million market capitalisation, and Matrixdock Gold expanded 23% to over $69 million, per RWA.xyz.
Gold itself reached an all-time high of $5,417 per ounce by late January and has stayed above $5,000 recently, despite a dip from leveraged bets in metals. Experts attribute this rally to political chaos, such as US tariffs and fears of an Iranian invasion.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto sector struggles. Bitcoin erased post-2024 election gains following Donald Trump's reelection, and the global market dropped more than 21% since January 1, per CoinGecko. Among the top 20 DeFi protocols, only Ethena—issuer of the USDe synthetic dollar—showed growth. Sky's deposit value fell 5%, and Aave's declined over 19%.
Ondo Finance and Securitize, platforms for wider tokenisation, also posted double-digit increases. Gold-backed tokens offer exposure to the metal's value without physical ownership; each typically represents one troy ounce or gram of gold stored in audited vaults by issuers like Tether.
In South Korea, investors favor these stablecoins to sidestep taxes on gold purchases, as crypto trading remains untaxed there. This trend highlights tokenised gold's appeal during market volatility.
