Gold Nears $3,000, May Force Bitcoin Above $74,000 as 3 Tons of Gold Get Tokenized

Gold, the original store of value, is inching closer to $3,000 and is currently trading above $2,700, printing fresh all-time highs in the process.

As the price of gold continues to soar, reaching new all-time highs above $2,700, and inching closer to the $3,000 mark, the capital may flow towards Bitcoin, pushing the world’s leading cryptocurrency to new highs above $74,000.

Meanwhile, a recent analysis by Arkham, a blockchain intelligence firm, reveals that one wallet now holds more than $250 million in Tether Gold. In the real world, this tokenized stash weighs approximately 3 tons.

For now, the owner of this tokenized stash remains unknown. However, using AI, Arkham speculates that the 3 tons of gold belong to RhinoFi. According to on-chain data, the layer-2 bridge has processed over $2.3 billion worth of assets from more than 48.8 million transactions. It currently bridges 31 chains, connecting over 2 million accounts.

Tether Gold is a stablecoin that tracks the real-world value of gold. As of October 22, over 246,520 tokens of digital gold had been minted on Ethereum. According to Ethplorer, there are 2,618 token holders making more than 39,500 transfers.

Although it cannot be immediately determined that RhinoFi controls nearly 50% of all Tether Gold in circulation, the tokenization of real-world assets is picking up steam. The success of USD-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC and their widespread adoption, especially in emerging economies, explain why they are here to stay.

However, the tokenization of gold, real estate, and even United States Treasuries is expanding the use cases of blockchain technology and making it easier for users to gain exposure to a wider range of assets. As the CEO of BlackRock predicts the tokenization market will reach into the trillions, we can expect to see more assets being represented on-chain in the coming months and years.

According to Coingecko, over $7.9 billion of assets have been tokenized. Most of them are on Ondo, Pendle, and Mantra. Beyond Tether Gold, other tokenized alternatives include Pax Gold and Quorium.

In addition to gold, real estate and United States Treasuries have been tokenized. BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, currently issues BUIDL on Ethereum.

Looking at rwa.xyz data, over $2.4 billion worth of United States treasuries, bonds, and other cash equivalents have been tokenized. BlackRock’s BUIDL currently manages over $550 million of tokenized treasuries.