Why 98% of Gold Investors Don’t Own Physical Gold Bars?

Jakarta, Pintu News – In the investment world, gold has always been considered a stable and profitable asset. However, there is a hidden problem that many investors may not realize. According to Björn Schmidtke, CEO of Tether gold depository company Aurelion (AURE), most gold investors do not actually own physical gold, but rather only have a claim on it through so-called “paper gold”.

Paper Gold Problems

Paper gold is a term used to describe gold investment products that do not involve physical ownership of gold, such as shares in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investors who buy paper gold think that they have bought physical gold, when in fact all they have is a piece of paper stating their rights to the gold. This avoids the hassle of storing and securing physical gold, but introduces other risks.

When there is a major financial crisis or currency devaluation, investors who want to retrieve their physical gold will face difficulties. There is no physical evidence showing ownership of a particular gold bar, which means there is no guarantee that investors can receive the gold they think they have. This can create panic in the market and widen the gap between the price of physical gold and paper gold.

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Gold Tokenization: The Solution of the Future

To solve this problem, Björn Schmidtke suggests the use of blockchain-based gold, otherwise known as onchain gold. Each gold token, such as XAUT, is directly linked to a gold bar stored in a vault in Switzerland. This allows for the global transfer of gold “ownership papers” in seconds via the blockchain, without the need to physically move the gold itself.

With this system, every investor can know exactly which gold bar they own. This eliminates bottlenecks in the physical delivery of gold and provides more confidence and security to investors. Tokenized gold not only facilitates transactions, but also ensures that gold ownership is real and verifiable.

Aurelion’s Strategy and Future

Aurelion has changed its treasury storage strategy to adopt XAUT as a more secure and efficient form of gold ownership. The company sees the technology as still early in its adoption cycle and has the potential to expand further. Aurelion plans to raise its capital in the coming year to expand its gold storage.

With a focus on building long-lasting Tether Gold equities, Aurelion aims to provide investors with the opportunity to participate in long-term gold investments. This is not a short-term arbitrage strategy, but rather an attempt to build sustainable value through gold.

Conclusion

Gold investment is promising, but it is important for investors to understand the type of gold holdings they have. With the development of blockchain technology, onchain gold offers a more secure and transparent solution for gold investment. It’s not just about owning gold, but how you own it.

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Reference

• Coindesk. Why 98% of Gold Investors Don’t Actually Own a Gold Bar and Why That’s a Problem. Accessed on January 26, 2026