Tether Launches Alloy, US Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin Backed by Gold
Tether is stepping into new territory with the launch of Alloy (aUSDT), a gold-backed stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. According to Tether, Alloy will be overcollateralized by Tether Gold (XAUt), a token representing ownership of physical gold, while being pegged to the U.S. dollar. This arrangement makes Alloy a synthetic dollar, designed to emulate the value and functionality of the U.S. dollar without direct backing.
In an explanatory post on X, Tether described tethered assets as digital assets intended to track the reference price of another asset through various stabilization mechanisms. Alloy by Tether claims to offer long-term holders the chance to maintain gold exposure while simultaneously obtaining a dollar-referenced tethered asset for everyday transactions and payments. Alloy can be minted on the new Alloy by Tether platform, offering a unique blend of stability and flexibility for digital asset holders.
The introduction of aUSDT offers both stability and flexibility. Tether indicated that other tethered assets, including yield-bearing products, could also be developed on the Alloy platform. The synthetic dollar can be minted by depositing XAUt through a smart contract and price oracles, allowing users to conduct transactions with aUSDT while retaining their gold-backed Tether assets.
This development comes in the wake of Tether's record $4.5 billion profit in Q1 2024, primarily driven by Bitcoin and gold. The creation of aUSDT was spearheaded by Tether subsidiaries Moon Gold and Moon Gold El Salvador. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino noted that Alloy by Tether will become part of a broader real-world asset tokenization platform launching later this year.