Tokenized gold markets now dominate global price discovery on weekends when traditional futures exchanges close, according to liquidity experts. These blockchain-based assets saw their market capitalization surge to $4.4 billion in 2025 as trading volume eclipsed $178 billion. The continuous, 24/7 trading provides a critical venue for investors to manage risk during geopolitical events outside standard market hours.
When U.S. gold futures markets close each weekend, price discovery shifts entirely to blockchain networks. Iggy Ioppe, a former Credit Suisse CIO and now CIO at Theo, stated, “In terms of publicly visible price formation, onchain markets are responsible for virtually 100% of weekend price discovery.” He noted price moves from these venues are often reflected when the CME reopens.
The tokenized gold sector expanded rapidly, growing its market capitalization from about $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion. This growth represented roughly a quarter of all net inflows into the broader real-world asset sector and exceeded the combined expansion of tokenized stocks and bonds.
Trading volume for assets like PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUt) hit about $178 billion in 2025. This level makes it the second-largest gold investment product globally by trading volume after SPDR Gold Shares. Market makers and crypto-native macro traders dominate participation, using these assets for collateral, hedging, and yield strategies.
Continuous trading provides a practical risk management advantage during market closures. For example, tokenized gold rallied on a recent Saturday as geopolitical tensions escalated, allowing immediate position adjustments. Ioppe noted most institutions currently treat the onchain signal as informational rather than a basis for active positioning.
Adoption still faces obstacles, including smaller liquidity pools than traditional ETFs and fragmented regulatory clarity. Ioppe concluded that tokenized and traditional markets will most likely exist in parallel, each serving different functions in the near term.
