Commodity-backed cryptocurrencies, which are dominated by gold-backed tokens, have seen a historic surge in issuance this week, with minting volumes hitting their highest point in at least five years.
The leap comes after gold futures traded above a $3,500 all-time high this week, after the Swiss Precious Metals Association warned that the U.S.’s 39% tariffs on Switzerland could have “negative impact” on the international flow of physical gold. Both gold spot and futures fell after the initial surge, when a White House official told Bloomberg that the President would introduce a policy clarifying that imports of gold bars should not be subject to tariffs.
That didn’t stop gold-backed tokens from being minted, however.
The warning also saw gold-based cryptocurrencies, including Tether Gold
and Paxos Gold (PAXG), briefly top $3,390 before receding. Minting volumes, per RWA.xyz data, reached $439 million over the week, more than…
