Interest in gold has reached a new peak: inflows into gold ETFs totaled 226.5 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025 — the highest in the past three years. The main demand came from North America, where investors are once again turning to gold as a safe-haven asset amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Against this backdrop, tokenized versions of gold — Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) — showed a sharp rise. Since the beginning of the year, they have gained 24.15% and 23.7% respectively, reaching record levels above $3,300 per token. Their prices have now corrected to $3,265 and $3,244.

Meanwhile, the broader crypto market has come under pressure: Bitcoin has lost over 11% year-to-date, and the CoinDesk 20 index has dropped by 30%. This has increased interest in assets backed by physical gold, combining the stability of traditional markets with the flexibility of digital technologies.

According to RWA.xyz, over $42.7 million worth of tokens were minted in the first quarter, helping to raise the total market capitalization of gold-backed cryptocurrencies to $1.4 billion.