Tether's Alloy protocol, a gold-backed stablecoin experiment, has been shut down, revealing the limits of complex lending structures in the real-world asset (RWA) sector. The exit underscores a growing divide, with direct asset exposure products outperforming more intricate tokenized lending models.
Ledn has meanwhile added Tether Gold (XAUT) as loan collateral, allowing users to borrow against gold in a manner similar to Bitcoin-backed loans. "When XAUT-backed loans go live, you will be able to borrow against your gold the way you already borrow against Bitcoin," Ledn said. The move expands Bitcoin-backed lending into tokenized commodities.
The tokenized commodities sector now accounts for nearly 17% of the $43 billion RWA market, according to data cited by CoinTelegraph. Tether's XAUT, a gold-backed token, is among the largest in this category, though its lending addition arrives as Tether quietly retreats from its own Alloy stablecoin.
XAUT's market cap remains significant within the RWA space, though it faces competition from direct gold tokenization products that have attracted more liquidity. The divergence between Tether's exit and Ledn's entry highlights the uneven adoption of tokenized gold, where simple price exposure wins over leverage-lending constructs.
Community reaction has been mixed, with some praising Ledn's expansion into commodities and others questioning whether gold-backed lending can scale amid regulatory uncertainty. The contrasting moves suggest the RWA sector is still searching for a sustainable model beyond simple tokenization.