BirdEye says tokenized gold market reached $4.56 billion by July 2026

Solana-based gold and silver tokens grew 689.1% in the year through August 2026, with yield-bearing products, a sovereign token and a bank-backed fund broadening the chain's tokenized commodities footprint.

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Summary

Birdeye's first tokenized gold report, "The Onchain Gold Rush," said the market reached about $4.56 billion by July 2026 across 14 physically backed gold tokens and six products that tokenize traditional gold ETF shares. The report said quarterly trading volume climbed from $13.6 billion in Q3 2025 to $48.8 billion in Q4 and peaked at $91 billion in Q1 2026, while onchain gold supply rose to roughly 1.2 million troy ounces in February 2026 before holding near 1.14 million after gold prices pulled back. Birdeye said XAUt and PAXG still account for 93.1% of the market, but activity is broadening across networks and use cases. On Solana, Birdeye Data's H1 2026 report said gold and silver token market capitalization rose 689.1% in the 12 months through August 2026, more than twice BNB Chain's pace and roughly 4.6 times the growth recorded on Avalanche and Ethereum. The expansion came as spot gold crossed $5,000 per ounce in January, drawing wider interest to products that pair bullion exposure with onchain trading or yield. Solana's ecosystem now includes Oro Finance's yield-bearing GOLD, Matrixdock's XAUm, Streamex's accredited-investor GLDY, Bhutan's sovereign-backed TER token and GOLDX, an on-chain physical gold fund launched by OCBC, Lion Global Investors and DigiFT.

Terms & Concepts
  • Tokenized gold: Digital tokens representing exposure to gold, usually backed by physical bullion or, in some products, by tokenized shares of gold ETFs.
  • DeFi collateral: Crypto or tokenized assets pledged in decentralized finance applications to borrow, trade or support other financial activity.
  • Gold leasing: An arrangement in which physical gold is lent to commercial users such as refiners or jewelers in exchange for a return, creating yield but also counterparty risk.