Tether reported that customer holdings of Tether Gold (XAU₮) increased 9.5% in the second quarter of 2026, even as gold prices fell 14.1% over the same period.

The company said customers accumulated more tokenized gold through June 30, 2026, while full 1:1 physical backing was maintained through Swiss-vaulted reserves under El Salvador's digital asset framework.

Customer Holdings Increased During Price Weakness

According to Tether, customer holdings rose from 559,598.640000 XAU₮ at the end of the first quarter to 612,823.660000 XAU₮ by June 30. The increase represented 53,225.020000 additional tokens moving into investor holdings during the quarter.

Tether said each XAU₮ token remained backed by at least one fine troy ounce of physical gold. Total reserves were unchanged at 707,747.139 fine troy ounces, or about 22.01 metric tonnes.

Gold ended the quarter at $4,008.02 per ounce after declining 14.1% from first-quarter levels. Tether said investors continued adding tokenized gold despite the lower price, underscoring that demand for the token can move independently of quarter-to-quarter gold performance.

Reserves Remained Fully Backed

Tether said its gold reserves consisted of 1,759 London Good Delivery bars, together with smaller bars, stored in Switzerland. The company also reported approximately $2.837 billion in market value at the end of the quarter.

Meanwhile, 94,923.430000 XAU₮ remained available for sale after quarter-end. Tether said its physical reserves remained sufficient to maintain full backing for every circulating token, a key operational detail for any tokenized commodity product that relies on redeemable reserves rather than market inventory.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said the second quarter tested investor demand during gold's largest quarterly correction in 13 years. He added that more than 53,000 tokens moved into customer ownership despite weaker prices.

Gold Strategy Expanded Further

Separately, Tether International SA de CV purchased approximately 27.1 tonnes of gold during the first half of 2026. The company averaged about 4.5 tonnes of purchases each month.

Based on the figures provided, Tether International would rank third globally for gold purchases during the period if measured alongside central banks. The reported holdings of approximately 150 tonnes would place it behind Poland and China, while ahead of Kazakhstan.