Tokenized gold trading reached a record high in the first quarter of 2026 as investors increased their exposure to blockchain-based safe-haven assets. CoinGecko’s latest report shows spot trading volume rose to $90.7 billion in Q1, surpassing the full-year total of $84.6 billion recorded in 2025.
At the same time, there was an increase in the number of people who chose tokenized commodities as an alternative way to gain access to gold via crypto exchanges. In addition, centralized exchanges were able to list new tokens and offer better liquidity, which made participation in this market easier for both individuals and institutions.
CoinGecko described 2025 as “a watershed year for RWAs,” and pointed to clearer regulation and growing institutional involvement in real-world asset tokenization. As a result, the sector continues to reshape how traditional commodities interact with digital financial markets globally.
Tokenized Gold dominates commodity expansion
The broader tokenized real-world asset market expanded sharply over the past fifteen months as investor demand accelerated across digital financial products. CoinGecko data shows total market capitalization rose 256.7% to $19.32 billion by March 2026. Besides, tokenized commodities recorded strong growth, rising from $1.43 billion to $5.55 billion over the same period.
Gold-backed tokens drove most of this expansion. Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) accounted for nearly 89.1% of the commodity market’s growth. Consequently, they remained the dominant players in tokenized gold trading throughout the period. XAUT reached a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, while PAXG climbed to $2.32 billion.
PAXG consistently captured between 34.2% and 82.5% of monthly trading volumes across exchanges. Meanwhile, XAUT held between 14.8% and 64.6% of monthly activity, reflecting strong but fluctuating demand.
Moreover, CoinGecko noted rising interest in smaller precious metal tokens as investors began diversifying beyond gold. Kinesis’ KAG doubled to $0.35 billion, while Matrixdock’s XAUM expanded more than elevenfold, although both still trailed the leading gold-backed assets.
RWA sector gains momentum across markets
Despite a slight fall in market share, tokenized treasuries remained a major player in the overall RWA market. The value of their capital grew by $9 billion, crossing the $10 billion threshold in February 2026. Yet, the trend turned more favorable towards other sectors as diversification happened in commodities, tokenized stocks, and ETFs.
The tokenized stocks witnessed one of the quickest growth trends in the industry since its inception in mid-2025. From only $2.09 million in the beginning, it rose to $486.69 million by March 2026. Circle dominated in this category, being valued at $171.39 million, while the stocks of Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and MicroStrategy were also notable contributors.
Similarly, the RWA perpetual futures saw a remarkable rise during the period as well. The trading volumes touched $524.79 billion by Q1 2026, indicating the quick acceptance of derivative contracts backed by real-world assets. Additionally, there was substantial demand for Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 offerings since the traders started investing more in tokenized financial assets. As a result, the open interest levels rose considerably from $0.14 billion to $6.68 billion within 15 months.
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