Tether Enables First Public-Company Tokenized Gold Dividend
Weekly Market Update #107
This week’s edition is brought to you by TenX Protocols Inc., a multi-asset digital treasury for Solana, Sui, and Sei, where Networks Become Revenue.
Before jumping into last week’s action, check out our latest research piece on LayerTwo Labs:
Weekly Market Developments
Hyperbeat introduces the USD+ stablecoin - source
Phantom adds MCP server integration - source
Ethereum Foundation publishes its 2026 protocol priorities - source
Base says it is leaving the OP Superchain to build its own stack - source
OpenAI backs launch of EVMbench for EVM performance benchmarking - source
Tether Gold (XAUT) enables a first-of-its-kind gold dividend distribution - source
NEAR launches a “super app” featuring AI and confidential transactions - source
Virtuals Protocol launches a new “Bounties” feature - source
Ether.fi moves its crypto card product from Scroll to OP Mainnet - source
Fluid announces the creation of the Fluid Foundation - source
Lookonchain flags a large entity selling ETH again - source
Aptos announces a tokenomics update - source
Ethereum Foundation stakes 70,000 ETH to support future operations - source
Zora launches on Solana - source
Backpack plans to offer equity exposure tied to 20% of the company via one-year token staking - source
Hyperliquid launches a DeFi policy shop led by Jake Chervinsky - source
Fear & Greed Index
ETF Flows
BTC ETFs were net -$316M for the week across 1 inflow day and 3 outflow days. Grayscale’s Mini BTC dominated with +$36M. Thursday saw the week’s only outflow at -$166M before resuming inflows. IBIT saw the largest outflows at -$304M.
Best day: Friday with +$88M across all funds.
ETH ETFs were net -$123M for the week across 1 inflow day and 2 outflow days. The Best day was Tuesday with +$49M.
Overall, ETH flows reached 39% of BTC activity, a relatively strong showing for Ethereum.
Spotlight: Tokenized gold dividends go mainstream
Tokenized Gold Overview:
Tether announced Elemental Royalty Corporation will become the first publicly listed gold company to let shareholders take dividends in Tether Gold (XAU₮), giving investors the option to receive distributions denominated in gold rather than cash. The practical shift is that a dividend can now settle as a gold-backed digital asset, combining commodity exposure with the portability of onchain settlement, and potentially making cross-border distribution and custody simpler for shareholders who want gold exposure without converting cash into metal after the fact.
More broadly, this is a clean “real-world utility” milestone for tokenized assets: it moves tokenization from trading and speculation into corporate payouts, where the asset being tokenized is directly tied to the company’s underlying commodity narrative. If adoption follows, the interesting next step is whether other commodity-linked issuers copy the model (and whether platforms, brokers, and custodians make the election process frictionless enough for it to matter at scale).
To read more about XAU₮, see our research piece for Valour (Europe’s largest ETP provider) here:
Top Gainers & Losers
This week, SNX (+28.7% 7D) and DCR (+20.7%) led gains, with SNX getting a retail tailwind after becoming available on Robinhood and Decred benefiting from momentum around its newly activated treasury policy framework. OP was the standout laggard (-38.1%), as OP Stack sentiment took a hit after Base said it’s leaving the OP Superchain to build its own stack, with upcoming scheduled unlocks also back in focus. ARB (-18.8%) stayed weak following its mid-February token unlock, keeping supply overhang front and centre.
Disclaimer: This research report is exactly that — a research report. It is not intended to serve as financial advice, nor should you blindly assume that any of the information is accurate without confirming through your own research. Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets are incredibly risky, and nothing in this report should be considered an endorsement to buy or sell any asset. Never invest more than you are willing to lose, and understand the risk that you are taking. Do your own research. All information in this report is for educational purposes only and should not be the basis for any investment decisions that you make.