According to Iggy Ioppe, former chief investment officer at Credit Suisse and now chief investment officer (CIO) at liquidity infrastructure firm Theo, gold prices are shifting on the blockchain network after the US futures markets close.
CME gold futures trading closes on Friday at 5:00 PM ET and reopens on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET. During this period, regulated futures markets are inactive and most of the remaining activity takes place in private over-the-counter transactions in Asia that are not made public. As a result, tokenized gold assets such as PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUt) become the only continuously available trading venues.
“In terms of publicly visible price formation, onchain markets account for virtually 100% of weekend price discoveries,” Ioppe told Cointelegraph.
He added that when futures trading resumes, prices often align with movements that have already occurred in blockchain markets. “We see the weekend movements being reflected in the reopening of the CME,” he said.
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Tokenized gold market capitalization increases to $4.4 billion
The change comes in the face of growing trading volume in tokenized gold. As Cointelegraph reports, tokenized gold has grown rapidly over the past year, increasing its value by nearly $2.8 billion and its market capitalization rising from approximately $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion.
The sector’s market capitalization increased by 177%, significantly outperforming the broader gold market and most major cash gold ETFs, while the number of holders almost tripled and more than 115,000 novel portfolios were introduced. This growth represented roughly a quarter of all net inflows into the real asset (RWA) sector and exceeded the combined expansion of tokenized equities, corporate bonds and non-U.S. treasuries.
Trading activity has also increased, with tokenized gold recording volume of approximately $178 billion in 2025 and peaking above $126 billion in the fourth quarter. This level would make it the world’s second largest gold investment product by trading volume, after SPDR Gold shares.
Ioppe said market makers and cross-platform liquidity providers dominate participation by arbitraging price differences between digital and conventional markets. Crypto-native macro investors also play an critical role, using tokenized gold not only for exposure to bullion prices, but also for hedging, hedging and profitability strategies during periods of geopolitical or macroeconomic uncertainty.
“Some institutions are monitoring the weekend gold markets on-chain, in particular the macroeconomic and cross-asset desks, which are monitoring the risk of gaps ahead of the reopening of the CME,” he said, noting that most institutions treat the signal as information rather than a basis for lively positioning.
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24/7 trading in tokenized gold allows investors to manage risk
Tokenized gold markets allow for continuous trading, which provides a practical advantage in risk management. If a geopolitical event occurs while futures markets are closed, conventional participants cannot adjust their positions. Tokenized markets enable immediate rebalancing.
Tokenized gold rallied on Saturday as geopolitical tensions escalated following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and investors moved to XAUT and PAXG, while Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) fell. According to CoinMarketCap data, XAUT briefly climbed above $5,450 and PAXG approached $5,536 during the day before paring gains.
However, Ioppe said adoption still faces obstacles. Liquidity remains lower than in futures contracts or ETFs, making it arduous to execute huge trades without changing prices. “Regulatory transparency is improving, but fragmentation between jurisdictions is slowing down institution implementation. Custody, accounting and capital rules still vary significantly,” he said.
For now, tokenized gold is expected to work alongside conventional products, not replace them. “The most likely evolution in the near term concerns the parallel existence of tokenized and traditional markets, each with a different function,” Ioppe concluded.
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