Tether’s XAU₮ wins Shariah certification for gold-backed token

Tether’s gold-backed token XAU₮ has received Shariah certification from Amanah Advisors, a move the issuer says could broaden adoption among Islamic banks, takaful providers and investors seeking compliant exposure to physical gold through a blockchain-based instrument. Tether said the certification reviewed the token’s structure and confirmed it meets key Islamic finance requirements, including full physical asset backing, the absence of interest and leverage, and a transparent reserve disclosure process. XAU₮ is structured so that each token corresponds to one troy ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults. As of March 31, Tether’s reserves report showed XAU₮ was backed by more than 707,000 troy ounces of gold valued at over $3.3 billion. Data from RWA.xyz showed its on-chain asset value rose from around $700 million in July 2025 to roughly $2.5 billion by mid-2026, underscoring the token’s growth as tokenized real-world assets gain traction. Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino said the certification links physical gold ownership to blockchain infrastructure while respecting Islamic financial principles. Tether said it expects adoption to grow across the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Asia and parts of Africa, and plans to work with Amanah Advisors on governance frameworks for secondary-market transactions while rolling out multilingual education and regional outreach for institutional and retail users. The announcement comes as Shariah-compliant digital assets gain more attention in the region. Debate over whether crypto structures meet Islamic finance standards has centered on speculation, excessive uncertainty and interest-bearing features, while regional regulatory momentum has also strengthened, including Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issuing its 50th Virtual Asset Service Provider license earlier in July 2026.