Bybit launched choices buying and selling for Tether Gold (XAUT) on its platform on June 12, turning into the primary crypto change to supply choices on a tokenized real-world asset, in line with the change’s announcement. The brand new product permits merchants to hedge or guess on gold worth volatility by way of XAUT, amid the continual growth of tokenized gold and real-world property on the blockchain.
Bybit Turns Tokenized Gold Into an Choices Market
With XAUT choices, Bybit is bringing tokenized gold past spot buying and selling and into the crypto derivatives market. XAUT is often used as a token representing bodily gold, however choices provide a extra versatile approach to commerce, from threat hedging to betting on gold worth volatility inside a crypto-native setting.
In line with Bybit’s June 12 announcement, that is the primary time a crypto change has provided choices on a tokenized real-world asset. The change additionally partnered with Orbit Markets to help liquidity in XAUT choices and deployed a Request for Quote (RFQ) mechanism concentrating on skilled purchasers.
This transfer comes as tokenized gold is gaining traction from each side: the demand for gold as a hedging asset and the pattern of bringing real-world property onto the blockchain. For Bybit, the brand new product helps rework XAUT from a token monitoring gold costs right into a instrument that can be utilized in broader by-product methods.
How the XAUT Choices Work
With XAUT choices, the underlying asset is Tether Gold, whereas the contracts are settled in USDT, in line with CoinDesk. Every XAUT represents one high-quality troy ounce of bodily gold, so this product brings gold worth volatility into the crypto market’s by-product construction.
For merchants, XAUT choices can be utilized to hedge or commerce primarily based on the route of gold costs with out dealing with bodily gold supply or opening a standard commodities account. XAUT holders can use put choices to restrict threat when costs drop, whereas merchants anticipating costs to rise can use name choices as a substitute of shopping for the token straight.
Bybit additionally deployed a Request for Quote (RFQ) for XAUT choices, concentrating on institutional {and professional} purchasers. In line with the change, RFQ will help OTC buying and selling with non-standard strikes, personalized maturities, and multi-leg methods, as a substitute of relying solely on accessible contracts on the order e book. This mechanism helps Bybit serve massive orders or extra advanced by-product constructions exterior the common listed market.
Why Tokenized Gold Is Getting Extra Consideration
Tether Gold is presently the most important gold token by market capitalization. In line with CoinGecko knowledge, XAUT is buying and selling round $4,319, with a market cap of roughly $2.65 billion, a 24-hour buying and selling quantity of about $490 million, and a circulating provide of round 612,823 XAUT.
XAUT market cap chart (W). Supply: TradingView
PAX Gold (PAXG), XAUT’s foremost competitor within the gold token class, has a market cap of round $1.98 billion and a 24-hour buying and selling quantity of about $88 million on the identical time. These figures are considerably decrease than XAUT’s market cap of $2.65 billion and quantity of round $490 million.
The eye towards XAUT additionally displays broader developments within the gold market. International central banks purchased greater than 1,000 tons of gold yearly through the 2022-2024 interval, earlier than dropping to 863.3 tons in 2025, however nonetheless remaining increased than the common of 400-500 tons within the 2012-2021 interval.
The closest-month gold futures worth on COMEX settled at $4,330.90 per ounce on June 16, which is eighteen.57% decrease than the height of $5,318.40 on January 29, however nonetheless 27.88% increased than the identical interval final yr. This exhibits why tokenized gold has gained extra traction amongst crypto merchants who need publicity to gold whereas remaining throughout the blockchain infrastructure.
The Institutional Angle
Bybit isn’t just concentrating on retail merchants with XAUT choices. The change’s partnership with Orbit Markets and the deployment of RFQ present that this product is designed to serve each institutional {and professional} purchasers, a gaggle that sometimes requires bigger commerce sizes and extra versatile constructions.
Orbit Markets performs the position of offering liquidity for XAUT choices, whereas RFQ helps OTC transactions or personalized constructions as a substitute of relying solely on the order e book. These are acquainted parts within the institutional derivatives market, the place desks usually require tailor-made quotes for large-volume trades or multi-step methods.
For Bybit, this implementation brings XAUT nearer to the logic of the standard by-product commodities market, however on crypto infrastructure. The underlying asset is tokenized gold, settlement happens in stablecoins, and the demand to be used can come from each short-term buying and selling {and professional} threat administration.
Dangers and What Comes Subsequent
XAUT choices open up extra buying and selling instruments for tokenized gold but additionally complicate dangers. Along with gold worth volatility, customers additionally face dangers of the choices market, from shedding premium for possibility patrons to skinny liquidity at sure maturities or strikes.
In line with Tether Gold’s documentation, every XAUT represents one high-quality troy ounce of London Good Supply bodily gold, held in a vault in Switzerland. Nevertheless, redemption and direct transactions with the issuer are nonetheless tied to KYC circumstances, main market processes, and phrases of service, whereas nearly all of customers on the change will commerce XAUT on the secondary market.
Following the preliminary launch section, the query is whether or not XAUT choices can keep deep sufficient liquidity. If quantity, spreads, and help from market makers stabilize, this product can be an early take a look at for by-product demand round tokenized gold.
