Tether Launches Gold-Backed Visa Card With Up to 6% Cashback in XAUT

Tether is expanding beyond stablecoins and deeper into real-world payments with the launch of a new Visa card that rewards users with Tether Gold (XAUT), the company’s tokenized gold product. The initiative, developed in partnership with fintech platform Fasset, aims to bring digital gold into everyday commerce by allowing users to spend fiat cy while earning gold-backed rewards on purchases.

The announcement represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to merge traditional payments, tokenized commodities, and blockchain infrastructure into a single consumer product.

Earn Gold While You Spend

The new card will operate on the Visa network and can be used anywhere Visa is accepted worldwide. While purchases are made in fiat cy, users will earn rewards paid in XAUT, Tether’s tokenized gold asset. According to the company, eligible purchases can earn up to 6% cashback in XAUT, creating a rewards system tied directly to physical gold rather than airline miles, points, or cash.

The card also includes an automatic “round-up” feature that converts spare change from purchases into XAUT. Similar to micro-investing apps, the system rounds transactions to the nearest dollar and automatically invests the difference into tokenized gold. For example, if a purchase totals $9.35, the remaining $0.65 could be automatically allocated toward acquiring additional XAUT.

Bringing Tokenized Gold Into Everyday Payments

One of the most notable features of the card is its ability to connect Tether’s ecosystem directly to real-world spending. Users can convert USDT into fiat at the point of purchase while simultaneously accumulating exposure to gold through rewards.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino described the initiative as an effort to make tokenized gold practical for everyday use rather than simply serving as a store of value. The company believes blockchain-based gold can become more useful when integrated directly into payment networks and consumer financial products. The launch reflects a broader trend across the crypto industry where digital assets are increasingly being used for payments, savings, remittances, and financial services rather than purely speculative trading.

What Is Tether Gold?

Tether Gold (XAUT) is a tokenized gold product where each token represents ownership of one troy ounce of physical gold held in secure vaults. Unlike traditional gold ETFs, XAUT can be transferred globally through blockchain networks and traded 24 hours a day.

The token currently has a market capitalization of approximately $2.6 billion, making it one of the largest tokenized commodity products in the digital asset sector. As gold prices continue reaching historic highs, tokenized gold products have seen increasing interest from investors looking for inflation protection while maintaining the flexibility of digital assets.

Fasset Targets Emerging Markets

Tether partnered with Fasset, a rapidly growing digital asset platform focused on Asia, Africa, and emerging markets. The company says it has processed more than $32 billion in annualized transaction volume, with the majority tied to real-world assets.

Fasset’s leadership believes tokenized gold could become a particularly attractive savings tool in regions where local currencies experience significant volatility. By combining payment functionality with gold accumulation, the companies hope to create a new financial product aimed at long-term wealth preservation. As part of the rollout, Tether has committed up to $1 million worth of XAUT to help bootstrap the card’s rewards ecosystem and encourage adoption.

Real-World Assets Continue Expanding

The launch arrives during a period of explosive growth for real-world assets (RWAs) on blockchain networks. Over the past year, tokenized Treasury bills, money market funds, private credit products, and commodities have attracted billions of dollars in investment. Tokenized gold has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors within the broader RWA market.

Industry analysts increasingly view tokenized commodities as one of blockchain’s most practical use cases because they connect digital infrastructure with assets that already have established global demand and market value.