Bitcoin Lender Ledn Introduces Tether Gold Collateral Option, Broadening Crypto Lending Services
The integration of Tether Gold lending by Ledn reflects the growth of tokenized commodities, which now represent approximately 17% of the $43 billion real-world asset market.
Cryptocurrency lending platform Ledn has broadened its product offerings to incorporate Tether Gold (XAUt), enabling investors to maintain ownership of the tokenized commodity while using it as collateral for borrowing, mirroring the approach already available for Bitcoin holdings.
The company made its announcement on Thursday, revealing that customers now have the option to leverage XAUt as security for loans rather than liquidating their positions to obtain cash. Following the platform's current lending framework, customer collateral is maintained on a one-to-one basis and remains protected from rehypothecation, third-party lending, or yield generation activities.
Borrowers receive and repay their loans in Tether's USDT or USAt stablecoins, with the flexibility to settle their obligations at any point without adhering to predetermined monthly payment schedules. Tether introduced USAt within the United States market in January as a stablecoin specifically engineered to meet the requirements of the GENIUS Act.
This product launch broadens the spectrum of digital assets eligible for use as loan collateral, providing investors with an additional avenue to obtain liquidity while avoiding the creation of a taxable event. Although Bitcoin-backed lending has established itself as a standard offering within the cryptocurrency marketplace, the incorporation of tokenized gold demonstrates the expanding initiative to integrate real-world assets into digital financial service offerings, particularly as gold valuations remain close to all-time peak levels.
These new lending products are being deployed across the majority of jurisdictions in which Ledn conducts business, though they remain unavailable to customers in Canada or the European Union at this time.
Tokenized commodities gain traction in RWA market
This development arrives at a time when commodities are assuming a more significant position within the tokenization sector. Data from a recent Token Terminal report indicates that tokenized financial assets have exceeded $43 billion in total value, with the commodities segment representing nearly 17% of the overall market.
In contrast to commodity derivatives and futures contracts, tokenized assets like gold maintain backing from the physical underlying asset, granting holders authentic ownership rights while facilitating accelerated transfers and trading capabilities through blockchain networks.
Tether Gold capitalized on this year's surge in precious metal valuations, experiencing market capitalization growth as gold prices soared to unprecedented heights exceeding $5,600 per troy ounce. The precious metal has subsequently retreated to approximately $4,300 per ounce but continues to show positive returns for the year.