March 2 News: As geopolitical risks continue to escalate, global demand for safe-haven assets has significantly increased, driving gold prices higher and prompting a rapid rise in tokenized gold assets in the crypto market. Data shows that on that day, international gold prices rose about 2%, reaching a high of $5,394 per ounce during trading— the highest since January 30— before slightly retreating to around $5,363.7. The market generally believes that increased military actions by the U.S. and Israel against Iran have heightened global tensions, prompting funds to flow into precious metals markets seeking safety.
Against this backdrop, some funds are beginning to allocate gold assets via blockchain channels. On-chain analysis platform Lookonchain discovered that a previously inactive wallet address, 0x1C70, used about $1 million in stablecoins to purchase PAX Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT). The address completed multiple exchanges in a short period and currently holds about $4 million in stablecoins, indicating it may continue to increase its holdings of tokenized gold.
Another transaction also drew market attention. According to on-chain monitoring platform OnchainLens, an Ethereum whale exchanged 1,000 ETH for 358.49 XAUT, worth approximately $1.94 million. Although this address incurred an unrealized loss of about $60,000 in this operation, it still chose to shift assets into gold-related tokens, reflecting a tendency among some funds to reduce risk exposure amid market volatility.
Institutional fund flows are also noteworthy. London-based asset management firm Abraxas Capital Management recently received 28,723 XAUT tokens from a vault address of a stablecoin issuer, valued at about $151 million. This is considered one of the largest XAUT transfers on-chain in the past three weeks. Data from blockchain intelligence platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the firm has been actively involved in the stablecoin and tokenized asset markets over the long term.
Meanwhile, the tokenized gold sector itself continues to expand. Industry data indicates that the total market value of related assets has exceeded $6 billion, with trading activity significantly increasing. Market tracking platform CoinGecko reports that the daily trading volume of XAUT and PAXG recently surpassed $1 billion each, reflecting growing investor interest in blockchain-based gold assets.
Analysts believe that tokenized gold offers a way to hold gold without relying on traditional financial systems and has certain appeal during market volatility. However, whether this influx of funds is merely short-term risk aversion or a long-term shift toward commodity-backed digital assets remains to be further validated by additional market data.
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