Tokenized gold is climbing even as Bitcoin slides and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) cools. In December 2025, on-chain gold products outperformed much of the crypto market, drawing investors who want a steadier place to park funds.
By the numbers
- Tokenized commodities market cap: $3.63B, up 5% month over month (RWA.xyz).
- Holders: 167,400, up nearly 3% in a month.
- Spot gold: above $4,200 per ounce, up 5% in a month.
- Real-World Assets (RWA) on-chain overall: $36.07B, mostly flat month over month.
- DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL): down from $177B in mid-October to $118B now.
- Ethereum TVL: down 34% since mid-October; Solana TVL: down 38% in the same period.
- Bitcoin: $83,550, down 24% in the past month; market cap over $1.7T.
Who is leading the on-chain commodities race
Gold-backed tokens dominate. Tether Gold (XAUT) sits at $1.6B in market cap, up 4.68% over 30 days. Paxos Gold (PAXG) follows at $1.4B, up 6.6% in the same period.
Not all leaders are metals. Justoken, which tracks soybean oil, ranks third at $501.2M, up 1.24% for the month. Matrixdock, another gold-backed product, is fourth at $57.5M.
Why gold is winning attention now
When markets get choppy, many investors turn to assets seen as steadier. Gold has long played that role. Earlier this year, Kevin Rusher, founder of RWA lending platform RAAC, told The Defiant that gold tends to be the go-to during uncertainty. He added that tokenized versions let crypto-native users hold gold on-chain and reduce big swings in their portfolios.
Context: DeFi softens, RWAs reshape flows
The rise of tokenized commodities is happening as DeFi activity cools. TVL, a gauge of how much value is locked in DeFi apps, has fallen sharply since mid-October on both Ethereum and Solana. Meanwhile, the broader on-chain RWA market is flat, suggesting investors may be rotating within RWAs toward commodities—especially gold—rather than adding lots of new capital.
How tokenized gold works (plain English)
Tokenized commodities are blockchain tokens backed by real-world assets, like bars of gold held in vaults. Each token is intended to represent a claim on a specific amount of the asset. That means crypto users can buy, sell, or move "gold" 24/7 on-chain without opening a brokerage account.
There are trade-offs. Buyers should understand custody (who holds the gold), redemption terms (how you turn tokens into metal or cash), fees, and any audits the issuer publishes. Liquidity and price tracking versus spot gold can also vary by token.
What this means for everyday investors
- Portfolio buffer: Gold-backed tokens can act like a cushion when crypto swings.
- Simple access: They bring a traditional safe haven into wallets and exchanges that crypto users already know.
- Diversification: The growth of non-crypto-native assets on-chain gives investors more choices than just coins and DeFi yields.
What to watch next
- Momentum: Do XAUT and PAXG keep gaining share if Bitcoin stays under pressure?
- Breadth: Will other commodities—like oil or industrial metals—see the same interest as gold?
- DeFi spillovers: If TVL stabilizes, does capital rotate back out of gold into riskier strategies?
- Issuer transparency: More frequent audits and clearer redemption terms could draw larger buyers.
Bottom line: In a month when Bitcoin fell 24% and DeFi activity slumped, tokenized gold stood out. The on-chain commodities market is still small at $3.63B, but its steady rise shows how RWAs can offer a calmer lane when crypto traffic gets rough.