Tether has revealed that it will deactivate its Alloy by Tether platform and cease production of USDT tokens, removing one of the few gold-linked stablecoin experiments from the market. The deadline for USDT holders to liquidate their positions is September 17, 2026.
This follows Tether’s focus on highly liquid assets. USDT It was created in June 2024 as a dollar-denominated stablecoin. The coin is minted using Tether Gold (XAU₮) as overcollateralization (a situation where more collateral is deposited than tokens created to maintain solvency and price stability under market pressure). Adoption of the original has been limited. However, its market value currently stands at about $1.2 million, compared to 14.73 kilograms of gold, worth $2.2 million.
What does this mean for USDT token holders?
Token minting has already been deactivated. Report to the rope Its users reported on June 17 that it had upgraded the Alloy by Tether platform to prevent the creation of new positions. Only USDT token holders will be able to redeem and redeem their own tokens Guarantees XAU₮ Until September 17, 2026.
The company said that the decision came after reviewing user activity, liquidity conditions and strategic priorities.
XAU₮ remains relevant and continues to grow
Although USDT has been discontinued from Tether’s list of available assets, XAU₮ remains one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies within the Tether stablecoin portfolio. XAU₮ They represent digital blockchain assets completely backed by gold bullion which can be exchanged according to certain rules. This asset reflects direct ownership of the precious metal. There are more than 22,000 kilograms of real gold backing XAU₮, while its market cap is estimated at $3 billion.
Furthermore, the amount of gold assets held by Tether has also increased. The increase occurred in early 2026, as the amount of gold assets increased from 520,089 ounces to 707,747 ounces, and their value increased from $2.25 billion to $3.3 billion during the period from the end of 2025 until March 31.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said that tokenized gold demonstrates “seriousness, scale and reserve discipline” similar to institutional holdings.
The token gold market as a whole is also growing. Industry analysis indicates that adoption of blockchain-based gold is rising rapidly, with Tether Gold capturing a large slice of the sector as tokenized commodities take off.
Bigger Tether bets on XAU₮ and USDT
aUSDT is just another in a series of products that Tether has stopped producing. This happened in February 2026 when Tether decided to stop producing its marine products Chinese Yuan stablecoin CNH₮ Due to lack of use and lack of demand for the product. The process was similar to the current one where the company first suspended production before allowing a recovery.
This trend reflects the company’s move to focus on more liquid, certified products such as USDT and XAU₮, and discontinue beta assets.
Tether’s continued focus on tokenization through gold-backed instruments also comes amid growing institutional demand for real-world asset digitization. Bybit launched XAU₮ options On June 12, what may be the first derivative instrument linked to a tokenized commodity listed on a reputable exchange will be introduced.
also, Tether and Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC) It has signed a memorandum of understanding to tokenize other commodities using its large community of over 26,000 member organizations.
Earlier, Tether also invested $150 million gold.com (formerly A-Mark Precious Metals), with a portion of the capital used to increase XAU₮ holdings.
From a market perspective, the USDT is not expected to cause any direct impact as it is still a relatively small producer. The bigger picture reveals Tether’s strategy, which appears to favor tokenized commodities backed by real assets rather than synthetic assets placed on top of existing collateral structures.
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