Tether winds down Alloy and gold-backed aUSD₮

Tether announced it will wind down Alloy by Tether and the aUSD₮ stablecoin, beginning a phased shutdown that blocks new users from opening positions or minting aUSD₮. Existing account holders have until Sept. 17 to close positions and retrieve XAU₮ collateral.

The decision followed an internal review of user activity, market demand and strategic priorities. Alloy was launched as an experimental platform that allowed holders to deposit tokenized gold, XAU₮, as collateral to mint an overcollateralized dollar-denominated token, aUSD₮. The platform combined tokenized commodity ownership with on-chain lending mechanics to test gold-backed collateralized lending.

Under the wind-down plan, Alloy will stop accepting new accounts and new mints of aUSD₮. Tether said it will manage a phased exit to give users time to reclaim collateral. The company confirmed the shutdown does not affect its other stablecoins or broader operations.

Tether stated it will continue to support XAU₮ as a core product and will reallocate development and capital to products within its ecosystem that show stronger demand and deeper liquidity.

The company noted that certain real-world asset segments, including tokenized Treasuries, money-market funds and stablecoins, have attracted growing interest, while demand for borrowing against tokenized commodities has been more limited. Alloy was an experiment to determine whether tokenized gold could support collateralized lending on-chain.

Alloy’s closure ends Tether’s experiment with a gold-backed synthetic dollar while keeping direct tokenized gold exposure available through XAU₮.