Commodity-backed cryptocurrencies, primarily gold-backed tokens, have experienced a record-breaking surge in issuance this week, reaching their highest minting volumes in five years.
This increase follows gold futures trading above a historic $3,500 high this week after a warning from the Swiss Precious Metals Association about potential negative impacts from the U.S.’s 39% tariffs on Switzerland. Both gold spot and futures prices fell following a White House official stating that gold bar imports would not be subject to tariffs.
Despite this, gold-backed tokens continued to be minted. The advisory saw gold-based cryptocurrencies briefly rise above $3,390 before declining. Minting volumes, according to RialCenter data, reached $439 million this week, more than doubling the previous record of $195 million recorded in 2021.
These tokens, secured by physical reserves stored in vaults, enable investors to gain exposure to the precious metal, allowing for instant on-chain transfers without borders.
Switzerland, while not having any gold mines, refines a significant portion of the world’s gold and exported over $61 billion worth of the metal to the U.S. in the past year.
This situation has prompted political backlash in Switzerland, with lawmakers pushing for the gold sector to share the economic burden. The precious metal constitutes over a quarter of Switzerland’s exports, according to data from the Swiss National Bank.
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