USDt rise momentum is strong, XAUt stands out.

The rise momentum of USDt is very strong and may surpass Ethereum in the near future. After the 3.12 event, factors such as cryptocurrency traders' demand for margin trading, various gray industries, and the demand for USD in certain countries or regions have jointly driven the rapid increase in USDt's market value. However, besides the highly watched USDt, Tether has also issued other asset-backed stablecoins, but they have rarely attracted people's attention.

According to official data from Tether, in addition to USDt, Tether has also issued three stablecoins that are pegged to the Euro, Chinese Yuan, and Gold, namely EURt, CNHt, and XAUt. Among them, the market capitalization and trading volume of EURt and CNHt are relatively limited. However, XAUt, which was launched at the end of January 2020, has performed exceptionally well: in just over four months, its market capitalization has risen to approximately 8.6 million USD, with a 24-hour trading volume exceeding 110,000 USD, and it is currently listed on five exchanges.

The rapid rise of XAUt in a short period of time is closely related to the global economic situation. The economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a favorable environment for its market value to increase rapidly. Each XAUt is anchored to one ounce of physical gold, and its market value rise reflects the demand from investors for physical gold. Users interested in XAUt are primarily those traders who pay attention to both cryptocurrency and gold investments, and they hope to gain exposure to gold in a convenient manner.

Many industry insiders believe that the rise of XAUt is related to the aggressive monetary easing policies of global central banks and the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as investors seek to hedge risks through XAUt. Compared to traditional gold ETFs/futures, XAUt has advantages such as no custody fees, redeemable physical gold, and 24-hour trading, which have driven its rapid market capitalization growth.

Currently, the trading of XAUt is mainly concentrated in a few large exchanges, primarily focused on derivatives trading. Delta Ex, FTX, and Bitfinex account for about 85% of XAUt trading volume. These platforms mainly offer perpetual contracts and leveraged trading for XAUt as derivatives. In the future, some exchanges also plan to introduce lightning network trading for XAUt.

Although XAUt has performed well, the industry is cautious about whether it can become the next USDt. Currently, there are over 75 stablecoin projects pegged to gold in the market, making competition fierce. Compared to USDt, XAUt is more volatile, and its issuance and management are more complex. Some experts believe that XAUt could reach a market value of several billion dollars in the future, but it is difficult to reach the scale of USDt.

XAUt faces some challenges during its development, such as issues with a shortage of gold supply. With changes in the market environment, whether Tether can once again gain the reputation of "digital gold" beyond "coin reserve" and "peer-to-peer electronic cash" remains to be seen over time.