Matrixport-HKUST Study: Can Tokenized Gold Reshape Finance

- Tokenized gold could bridge blockchain and traditional finance systems. - The report sees tokenized gold as a solution to trust and liquidity gaps globally. On September 10, 2025, Matrixport and the HKUST Institute for Financial Research published a new report, titled *"Tokenized Gold: Redefining Financial Infrastructure for the World’s Oldest and Most Trusted Asset Class,"* which examines how tokenized gold could transform the traditional gold market and modern financial systems. The study highlights tokenized gold’s potential to resolve inefficiencies in cross-border payments, improve transparency, and integrate blockchain with traditional finance. In the report, the authors emphasized that tokenized gold could address key global financial challenges, such as eroding monetary trust and structural flaws in cross-border settlements. They argue that tokenization enables gold assets to adapt to modern financial environments with blockchain-enhanced transparency and liquidity. The report, co-authored by Bo Tang, Head of the HKUST Institute for Financial Research, and Eva Meng, Head of Matrixdock (Matrixport’s RWA tokenization platform), critiques how traditional gold assets struggle within modern financial structures. It identifies tokenized gold as a bridging solution that links physical assets with blockchain ecosystems to foster more efficient payments and trading. The study outlines several practical applications for tokenized gold, including decentralized finance (DeFi), cross-border transactions, and digital reserve assets for emerging economies. It highlights tokenized gold as a potential cornerstone in next-generation DeFi systems, where it can function as collateral and stabilize decentralized protocols. By utilizing on-chain data, tokenized gold can enhance transparency, operational efficiency, and liquidity within the broader gold industry. In the September 10 report, Eva Meng, Head of Matrixdock, stated that tokenized gold “backed by physical gold” is already mitigating long-standing challenges such as “information opacity, fragmented liquidity, and limited use cases.” In addition, Bo Tang, Head of the HKUST Institute for Financial Research, added that gold tokens could play "a pivotal role in the future global monetary and asset system," seamlessly connecting traditional and blockchain-based infrastructures. This report inaugurates a collaboration between Matrixport and the HKUST Institute for Financial Research, whose partnership was formalized in August 2025. The collaboration aims to integrate academic insight with industry knowledge to advance tokenized asset innovation. According to data from CoinMarketCap on September 10, 2025, Tether Gold (XAUt) was trading at $3,645.373 as of 15:13 UTC, while its 24-hour trading volume had declined by 0.041%.