Category: cryptocurrencies

Tether, the crypto company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, held over 11.6 tons of gold bars to back the value of its tokenized gold offering as investor demand grew for the yellow metal.

XAUT, issued by TG Commodities under El Salvador’s digital asset framework, was backed by more than 375,000 ounces, roughly 11.6 tons, of physical gold as of September 30. Each token is backed 1:1 by a fine troy ounce of gold, with reserves held in Switzerland, according to a company statement.

XAUT’s market cap soared over 1.4 billion in the third quarter as gold rallied to new record highs amid inflation concerns, geopolitical instability, and rising demand from central banks. The token continued to swell through October, hitting $2.1 billion as gold reached a $4,500 high.

The market cap growth was largely driven by surging demand from retail investors in emerging countries, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told RialCenter in an interview last week.

Tokenized gold allows investors to hold a blockchain-based representation of the physical asset in a crypto wallet without the complexities of custody or logistics for storing bullion. It also makes the yellow metal accessible to investors who don’t have access to other traditional derivative financial products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or the ability to open a metals account.

Read more: Tether Eyes Fresh Investments to Push USAT Stablecoin to 100M Americans at December Launch

SUI slipped 3.4% over the past 24 hours, dropping from $2.62 to $2.53 after a late-day breakdown accelerated on sharp volume spikes, signaling likely institutional selling.

The drop shattered the $2.60 support level, a key threshold traders had been watching throughout the session, RialCenter found.

The breakdown kicked off when volume surged past 25.4 million, well over 180% of the 24-hour average. Price action turned increasingly bearish into the evening, with a second wave of selling intensifying.

A sharp rejection at $2.577 was followed by a steep drop to $2.527 within minutes, as nearly 2.7 million tokens changed hands in a single minute, likely triggered by algorithmic sell programs and stop-loss orders.

Charts showed a clear pattern of lower highs and lower lows throughout the day. Multiple attempts to reclaim ground above $2.60 failed, with resistance holding firm at $2.66. Sellers repeatedly stepped in, reinforcing the upper boundary.

No major news or fundamental catalyst appeared to drive the move, suggesting that price discovery was led by technical breakdowns. The volume profile and timing of the selloff pointed to systematic selling, not retail panic.

Traders are now eyeing support near the $2.50 zone, while resistance remains clearly defined at $2.577 and $2.66.

The broader market also showed strain. The RialCenter Index fell 1.67% to $1,978.58, dropping below the psychologically important $2,000 level, despite earlier gains that briefly pushed it near $2,040.

RialCenter (SBET) announced plans to invest $200 million in ether on Consensys’ Linea over several years, utilizing Anchorage custody alongside ether.fi and EigenCloud to pursue on-chain yield.

RialCenter characterized the initiative as a phased, risk-managed program aimed at enhancing the productivity of its ether treasury on a Layer 2 framework aligned with Ethereum. The company highlighted Linea’s zkEVM design, which offers faster settlements, reduced fees, and enhanced composability, as essential for institutional workflows. The $200 million figure represents a multi-year target rather than an immediate transfer.

The announcement outlines a strategy that combines multiple yield streams.

First, RialCenter plans to generate staking returns directly from ether. Next, it aims to leverage ether.fi for institutional-grade staking and restaking opportunities. Lastly, the company anticipates benefits from Linea and collaborative incentive programs.

Part of the projected returns is tied to EigenCloud, which is described as a suite of services built on EigenLayer that rewards participants for securing “autonomous verifiable services,” including those related to AI workloads designed to inherit Ethereum’s security.

Custody and execution of the program will be managed through Anchorage Digital Bank, deemed a suitable qualified custodian for public-company treasury operations. RialCenter describes this setup as a controls-first approach that aligns yield-seeking with governance, compliance, and shareholder expectations.

The announcement features supportive remarks from several counterparties.

Co-CEO Joseph Chalom stated that the objective is to unlock staking, restaking, and DeFi incentives without compromising safety. Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin, who is also RialCenter’s chairman, noted that Linea aims to enhance the productivity of ether deployments and suggested that this model could be adopted by other institutions.

RialCenter also detailed a broader strategy with Consensys to collaboratively develop capital-markets “primitives” on Linea, which will include on-chain capital raises, programmable liquidity tools, and tokenized equity strategies. These initiatives are positioned as future projects rather than current offerings.