What is tokenized gold?
DefinitionTokenized gold is a crypto token that represents physical gold held in a vault by the token’s issuer, typically 1 token for 1 troy ounce. It lets you buy, hold and send gold in small fractions on a blockchain, at a price that tracks the global gold spot price.
How gold tokens work
An issuer buys gold bars, stores them with a custodian and creates tokens against them. Each token is a claim on a set amount of gold, most often one troy ounce, and it can be split into tiny fractions. When tokens are redeemed or sold back to the issuer, they are destroyed, or burned.
The token’s price follows the international spot price of gold in US dollars, not the price in your local gold market. Local coins and bars can trade at a premium or a discount to that price.
Troy ounces, grams and karats
Gold is priced internationally per troy ounce, which is 31.1034768 grams, heavier than an ordinary ounce. To find the value per gram, divide the ounce price by 31.1034768.
The gold behind these tokens is fine, investment-grade gold. Jewellery is often 18 karat, which is 75% gold, so a gram of jewellery and a gram of tokenized gold are not worth the same.
Risks to understand
- Issuer risk: you rely on the issuer to hold the gold, publish audits or attestations and honour redemptions
- Freezing: many issuers can freeze tokens held on specific addresses
- Redemption limits: turning tokens into physical bars often needs a large minimum and identity checks
- Price risk: gold prices fall as well as rise, and your local price can differ from the global one
- Fake tokens: check the token’s contract address, not just its name
Gold in Waletifi
Waletifi lets you hold gold as a token backed by physical gold held by its issuer and priced at the global spot price. You see it in grams and in your currency, can set gold savings goals with reminders, follow the price by day, week, month and year, and sell to USDT at any time. Availability depends on your country.
