The concept of tokenized gold is moving in the right direction with the official launch of XAUT, a gold-backed digital asset by Tether Gold, on the Mantle network. This growth is fueled by cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. Bybit has demonstrated full XAUT deposits and withdrawals on Mantle, giving XAUT users a new way to physically access gold through a high-performance blockchain architecture.
XAU₮ by @tethergold is coming to Mantle.
With deposits and withdrawals now available via @Bybit_Official, tokenized, vault-backed gold can now move seamlessly on our high-performance rails.
By accelerating RWAvolution, we enable real-world financial flows efficiently and at scale. pic.twitter.com/vSSlw8NWhv
— Mantle (@Mantle_Official) January 19, 2026
This integration is a significant milestone from real-world assets to on-chain integration and means the stability of Gold is combined with Mantle’s low-cost, high-throughput Layer 2 environment. This is also a step towards solidifying the mantle between traditional finance and decentralized liquidity.
Bybit enables XAUT forwarding in Mantle
Bybit has confirmed that Mantle will be able to accept XAUT deposits and withdrawals starting January 20, 2026, with transfers starting at 10:00 UTC. During the special period, users will not receive withdrawal fees on XAUT Mantle transfers. This makes the network more economical than the Ethereum mainnet.
This update enables Bybit users to transfer tokenized gold between Mantle infrastructures without resorting to costly layer 1 transactions. The integration was described by the exchange as part of a broader effort to expand access to tokenized real-world assets and cross-chain efficiency.
What XAUT stands for on-chain
XAU is an electronic currency (token) issued by Tether Gold, with each unit guaranteed to be equivalent to one troy ounce of physical gold held in a secure vault. Ownership of XAUT provides direct exposure to gold without the logistical problems associated with holding or transporting gold.
With the implementation of XAUT on Mantle, tokenized gold gains characteristics commonly known for crypto-native assets, such as faster settlement, integrability with decentralized applications, and the ability to smoothly integrate with on-chain financial systems.
Lower fees and faster finality
Reducing transaction costs is one of the most important benefits of XAUM on Mantle. Additionally, the layer 2 architecture designed by Mantle based on the OP stack allows us to significantly reduce fees associated with Ethereum mainnet with a high level of security guarantees.
Transfers from Ethereum to Mantle are estimated to take less than 3 minutes, and withdrawals to Ethereum are estimated to take approximately 12 hours. This configuration allows users to benefit from the efficiency of the Mantle execution layer while providing flexibility in their liquidity and settlement requirements.
Enabling DeFi access without sacrificing stability
Launching XAUT on Mantle allows users to participate in a decentralized finance protocol with exposure to one of the world’s oldest and most secure stores of value: gold. This stability and composability is a trend in the RWA industry, with more traditional assets being incorporated into DeFi.
Mantle highlighted that this integration can be used to transfer gold-backed assets between on-chain applications in a seamless manner, allowing users to explore yield opportunities, liquidity provisioning, and other DeFi applications without moving from their defensive asset positions.
Strengthening Mantle’s RWA Vision
According to Mantle, the implementation of XAUT was part of a larger program called RWAvultion to ensure that real-world finance works effectively on-chain and at scale. Mantle is building itself as a central infrastructure layer that facilitates decentralized liquidity for TradFi assets by supporting vault-backed gold through direct integration with exchanges.
The network pointed to the fact that XAUT on Mantle is a viable demonstration of how RWA is expected to operate on-chain, combining transparency, efficiency, and real economic support.
Broad migration to on-chain, real-world assets
The introduction of XAUT to Mantle is indicative of a broader industry trend to tokenize offline assets and integrate them with blockchain ecosystems. Assets like gold are being redesigned using crypto-native infrastructure as users demand stability and on-chain flexibility.
Backed by Bybit, XAUT on Mantle is now live and the integration of value and decentralized technology is an interesting idea for what lies ahead in the second wave of digital finance.