Nasdaq-listed wealth manager Aurelion has allocated $48 million of its Tether Gold holdings to seed a new yield-generating DeFi protocol called XAUE. The protocol, launched by the Aurise Foundation, allows institutional participants to earn yield on tokenized gold through strategies like lending and quantitative trading, with digital asset firm Antalpha also committing approximately $76 million to the initiative.
Aurelion has deployed 10,000 units of Tether Gold (XAUT), valued at roughly $48 million, into the newly launched XAUE protocol. The protocol is designed as a treasury layer that generates yield on tokenized gold while maintaining exposure to the underlying asset.
The Aurise Foundation introduced XAUE this week, with Antalpha among ecosystem partners committing a combined 16,052 XAUT, or around $76 million, to seed it. Yield is generated through institutional lending and quantitative trading, increasing the gold backing per token instead of distributing separate returns.
XAUE operates on Ethereum using a fixed-supply model where deposited XAUT converts to XAUE at a 1,000:1 ratio. Reserves may grow as yield accrues while the token supply remains unchanged, and users can redeem XAUE for the underlying gold-backed tokens.
Access is currently limited to whitelisted, KYC/KYB-verified institutional participants in eligible jurisdictions. Following this allocation, Aurelion said it will hold a total of 33,318 units of Tether Gold, with 23,318 units held outside the protocol.
The price of Aurelion (AURE) stock was up about 2.6% in midday trading, according to Yahoo Finance data. This move follows a $150 million financing round by the company in October 2025 to support its Tether Gold treasury strategy.
Tokenized gold is increasingly moving toward yield-generating structures, challenging its traditional role as a non-yielding asset. In March, crypto exchange Bybit launched a yield-bearing Tether Gold product, and platform Theo introduced a yield-bearing model for its gold-linked stablecoin.
The tokenized commodities market is largely concentrated in gold-backed assets, with a total sector size of roughly $5.25 billion. Data from RWA.xyz shows Tether Gold and Paxos Gold account for the majority of this market.
