Ledn, a crypto lending platform that has spent the better part of a decade building its reputation around Bitcoin-backed loans, just broke its own mold. The platform now accepts Tether Gold (XAU₮) as collateral for loans disbursed in USDT or the newer USA₮ stablecoin, effectively letting gold holders tap liquidity without selling their position.
It’s a notable shift for a company that has processed over $10 billion in loan originations since 2018, all previously anchored to a single collateral asset. The feature went live on June 18, 2026, and is available across more than 100 countries, though Canada and the European Union are excluded at launch.
Why tokenized gold, and why now
Here’s the thing about Tether Gold: each XAU₮ token is backed one-to-one by a physical ounce of gold stored in Swiss vaults, with independent attestations to verify the backing. The token currently carries a market cap of roughly $2.58 billion, making it one of the largest tokenized commodity products in crypto.
That $2.58 billion figure sits within a much larger trend. Tokenized commodities now account for nearly 17% of the $43 billion real-world asset (RWA) market.
