As gold prices hit record highs and safe-haven demand surged, Tether rolled out Scudo on January 6, 2025 — a unit of account for its gold-backed token Tether Gold (XAU₮). The goal: turn gold into a practical payment method for daily digital transactions.
What Is Scudo and How Does It Work?
Scudo is not a new token. It is simply a unit of measurement: 1 Scudo = 0.001 troy ounce of gold, roughly $4.50 at current prices. Instead of dealing with long decimal quotes like 0.023456, users will eventually see wallet balances in round numbers — e.g., 500 Scudo instead of 0.500000 XAU₮. Think of it as the “satoshi” for gold.
Nothing Changes for Tether Gold’s Backing
Each XAU₮ token remains fully backed 1:1 by physical gold stored in secure Swiss vaults, verifiable on-chain. Scudo is purely a display layer. All blockchain transactions still settle in XAU₮, but wallet interfaces will gradually adopt Scudo values.
Why Launch Now? Record Gold Rally
Gold surged roughly 67.75% over the past year, driven by inflation, interest-rate uncertainty, and central banks buying at record pace. Investors are seeking stable stores of value. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that improving user experience is key to mass adoption. Scudo removes the friction of fractional pricing, making gold more usable for everyday purchases.
Scudo vs. Pax Gold: Competing or Complementary?
Pax Gold (PAXG), issued by Paxos Trust Company under New York State regulators, already supports fractional transfers but lacks a fixed sub-unit. Scudo’s advantage lies in micro-payments: buying a coffee with 0.001 oz gold is simply 1 Scudo. PAXG dominates in institutional DeFi with strong regulatory oversight; XAU₮, backed by Tether’s liquidity and global reach, targets payment and tipping use cases.
Wallet Support: Q1–Q2 2026 Expected
No major wallet currently displays Scudo balances; users still type fractional XAU₮ manually. However, Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK) is expected to accelerate adoption. Early WDK-based wallets could support Scudo display as early as January or February 2026, with MetaMask and Trust Wallet likely following in Q1 or Q2 2026.