- Tokenized gold reached a record trading volume in Q2 2025, surpassing $19 billion.
- Tokenized gold outpaced top gold ETFs in volume for the fourth time in a row, significantly narrowing the gap in trading activity.
- Most of tokenized gold’s momentum has been retail-driven, reflecting a growing demand for accessible gold exposure.
Tokenized gold reached a new all-time high in trading volume in Q2 2025, crossing the $19 billion mark for the first time, amid tariff uncertainty and tensions in the Middle East. This quarter marked a clear acceleration in a trend that’s been quietly building: tokenized gold is rapidly gaining ground on traditional gold investment vehicles, and it is well-positioned to overtake the second-largest gold ETF in volume in the next three months.
Tokenized Gold Has Surpassed Mid-Tier Gold ETFs&
Tokenized gold markets saw explosive growth over the past 15 months. From just $2.4 billion in Q2 2024, quarterly volume ballooned 8 times to $19.2 billion by Q2 2025. This growth far outpaced most top gold ETFs, including SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU), whose volumes roughly doubled over the same period. This outperformance suggests a reallocation of activity from legacy ETFs toward on-chain gold products.
The most prominent story lies in the mid-tier ETFs. Despite relatively similar size with some mid-tier ETFs, tokenized gold has been significantly more reactive to tariffs and other geopolitical events in 2025. As a result, while tokenized gold has been experiencing an accelerating surge in trading volume, mid-tier gold ETFs have increasingly lagged behind both their larger counterparts and tokenized competitors, suggesting that they have been hit the most by this tokenized gold expansion.
Due to the rapid growth in 2025, tokenized gold now ranked 4th in trading volume among top gold investment products, overtaking SGOL, AAAU, IAUM, and OUNZ. And it’s on track to surpass IAU and GLDM as early as Q3 2025 if the current pace holds.
Tokenized Gold Is Now Aiming to Rival GLD and IAU&
While GLD still dominates with $232 billion in Q2 volume, the gap is shrinking fast. Tokenized gold volume is now just 12x smaller than GLD, down from 45x one year ago. In turn, the difference between IAU and tokenized gold volume has already fallen from a 5x gap in mid-2024 to just 2x today.
Since Q3 2024, tokenized gold has consistently outpaced both GLD and IAU in quarterly volume growth. For instance, in Q2 2025, tokenized gold volume jumped 253% from the previous quarter, compared to 75% for GLD and 71% for IAU. This suggests that tokenized gold is not simply following the broader trend of renewed interest in gold, but outgrowing it.
Retail Investors Are Fueling the Shift
This surge in tokenized gold volume isn’t just about market structure, but also about who’s buying. While ETFs remain the go-to option for institutions, tokenized gold is being increasingly adopted by retail and crypto-native investors. The clearest signal of that shift comes from Kinesis Gold (KAU), a gold token denominated in 1 gram of gold instead of 1 ounce. KAU’s volume skyrocketed from $40 million in Q2 2024 to $5.5 billion in Q2 2025, showing strong appeal among retail traders.
Other major tokenized gold tokens are seeing a user boom too. The number of PAXG holders grew by 25% in 2025, while XAUT holders jumped 151%, suggesting a wave of new participants entering the market. Rather than large institutional inflows, this growth appears to reflect grassroots adoption, particularly in regions where access to traditional gold ETFs is limited.
Utility, Not Just Store of Value
Despite record-breaking trading activity, tokenized gold still lags behind in market cap. In 2025, GLD’s total market cap rose 36%, while tokenized gold added 29%. This gap suggests that tokenized gold isn’t yet seen as a long-term store of value in the same way as ETFs.
Instead, it’s increasingly functioning as a liquid utility asset within the on-chain economy. Tokenized gold is frequently used in DeFi protocols and collateralized lending — activities where velocity matters more than static holdings.
Macro Tailwinds Could Push Tokenized Gold Over the Edge
This year’s geopolitical shocks fueled interest in both traditional gold offerings and tokenized gold. However, if macro conditions continue to deteriorate, tokenized gold could gain even more traction.
Donald Trump recently extended the U.S. tariff deadline from July 9 to August 1, and this indicates that the story is far from over. If tensions escalate, investors are likely to increase their exposure to gold. Given the rising awareness and growing infrastructure supporting tokenized gold, this next macro spike could be the moment it may surpass IAU in trading volume.
Final Thoughts
Tokenized gold is gradually becoming a core component of the modern gold investment ecosystem. ETFs like GLD still define the top of the market in both assets and mindshare. But the rise of tokenized gold shows that retail and crypto-savvy users are carving out a parallel gold economy on-chain. With shrinking volume gaps, explosive adoption, and global macro catalysts in play, the flippening may arrive sooner than expected.
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