Elemental Royalty Plans Shareholder Dividend Payments In XAUt
The Daily Crypto Update for Institutional Investors
Elemental Royalty Corporation (TSX-V: ELE, NASDAQ: ELE) has become ‘the first gold company globally to offer shareholder dividends payable in’ Tether’s tokenized gold product, XAUt
According to an announcement from the gold royalty firm, Elemental ‘anticipates that qualifying registered shareholders will be able to elect to receive their dividend in the form of’ XAUt tokens. The firm’s shareholders will be provided ‘with direct ownership of physical gold through their investment in gold royalties.’ In a separate announcement, Tether described the development as a ‘historic milestone for the gold industry.’ According to Tether, which holds 140 tons of gold, the move ‘introduces a modern model for shareholder distributions by connecting traditional gold ownership with blockchain-based infrastructure.’
In a January interview with CEO Paolo Ardoino on the extent of Tether’s gold ambitions, Bloomberg pointed out Tether ‘has taken stakes in almost every mid-sized Canadian listed royalty company, including Elemental Royalty Corp, Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd, Versamet Royalties Corp and Gold Royalty Corp.’ In September, Tether increased its USD 105M stake in Elemental by USD 100M, in conjunction with the latter firm’s merger with EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN | TSXV: EMX). Additionally, Tether believes that XAUt can significantly expand in 2026 and end the year with USD 5B to 10B in market circulation, according to Ardoino. The CEO also believes ‘foreign countries that are buying a lot of gold’ will eventually launch tokenized gold products. Early examples of this trend have begun, with Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan launching tokenized gold products late last year. The two leading tokenized gold products at the moment are XAUt and PAXG, with market caps of USD 2.55B and 2.26B, respectively.
This week, in announcing the availability of tokenized gold via OTC trading, Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy remarked that gold is ‘[undergoing] the same infrastructure evolution that turned foreign exchange into the world’s largest market.’ According to Gaevoy, ‘Gold is now following that playbook, and we expect the tokenized gold market to reach [USD 15B] in 2026 as institutional adoption accelerates.’
Crypto proponents envision blockchain technology as endowing gold with new capabilities, such as peer-to-peer transactability or the integration into crypto-native financial services, such as collateralized lending. This may allow investors to borrow against gold in ways that are difficult with physical bullion.
Takeaway: Tether’s announcement of the Elementing move pitched it as ’a major evolution for both gold markets and digital asset infrastructure, demonstrating how tokenization can extend beyond trading and into real-world corporate finance.’ For crypto proponents, this is a spot on pitch for the uptake of blockchains as infrastructure for traditional capital, like gold.
CRYPTO HEADLINES
At the end of 2025, Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments, both Abu Dhabi-based funds, held over USD 1B in BlackRock’s (NYSE: BLK) IBIT BTC ETF, according to SEC filings. Mubadala reported 12,702,323 shares valued at USD 631M, a 46% increase from the previous quarter, while Al Warda held 8,218,712 shares worth USD 408M. - link - @TheBlock
Intesa Sanpaolo (BIT: ISP) reported holding USD 96M in BTC ETFs as of December 31, 2025, including positions in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and iShares Bitcoin Trust. The bank’s filing indicated additional crypto-related holdings in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, Circle Internet Group Inc., Robinhood Markets Inc., BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc., Coinbase Global Inc., and ETHZilla Corp. - link - @Bloomberg
Peter Thiel and Founders Fund Management have fully exited ETHZilla (NASDAQ: ETHZ) according to an SEC filing disclosing zero share ownership after once holding 7.5%. ETHZilla recently sold significant amounts of Ether and launched ETHZilla Aerospace, offering tokenized access to equity in leased jet engines. - link - @Bloomberg
California requires crypto firms serving residents to obtain a Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL) license, apply, or qualify for exemption by July 1, 2026. Applications open March 9, 2026. The law, signed in October 2023, introduces licensing for digital asset services, with concerns it may prompt some firms to exit. - link - @Decrypt
US crypto lending company Milo claims to have originated over USD 100M in crypto-backed mortgages, including a USD 12M transaction, using BTC or ETH as collateral. The firm reports zero margin calls and operates in multiple states. Loans require full crypto collateral and start at 8.25%. - link - @CoinDesk
A misconfigured oracle on Moonwell led to cbETH being valued at about USD 1 instead of USD 2,200, causing liquidations and USD 1.78M in bad debt. The issue, linked to a Moonwell DAO proposal execution, enabled exploitations and will be addressed via governance. Similar oracle incidents have affected other DeFi platforms. - link - @Decrypt
Quantoz Payments is now a principal Visa member, allowing it to issue virtual debit cards linked to regulated USDQ, EURQ, and EURD tokens in Europe. The company will sponsor fintech partners and must maintain reserves, but launch dates and partners remain undisclosed. - link - @CoinTelegraph
Stripe-owned Bridge received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national trust bank and issue stablecoins. This charter allows Bridge to operate under federal oversight, with its systems reportedly compliant with GENIUS Act standards. Similar approvals were granted to Circle, Ripple, Paxos, and others. - link - @CoinDesk
HIVE Digital Technologies reported USD 93.1M in revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, a 219% increase year over year. The increase was attributed to its diversification into AI and high-performance computing. The company aims for USD 140M annual AI cloud revenue by Q4 2026. - link - @Cointelegraph
The CFTC is seeking to assert its exclusive federal jurisdiction over event contracts, including prediction markets, amid disputes with state regulators. The CFTC filed an amicus brief in a case involving Crypto.com and Nevada, citing the Dodd-Frank Act. The debate centers on whether these contracts are federally regulated derivatives or subject to state gaming laws. Lawmakers and state officials are divided over the regulatory reach of the CFTC regarding prediction market platforms. - link - @TheBlock
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Gold’s share in USDt’s reserves has steadily increased over the past two years.
About FRNT Financial
FRNT is a digital asset investment bank offering capital markets and advisory services to institutional investors participating in or entering the space. The Company aims to bridge the worlds of traditional and web-based finances with a technology forward and compliant operation. Business lines include deliverable trading services, structured derivative products, merchant banking, advisory, consulting, lending origination and principal investments. Headquartered in Toronto, FRNT was co-founded in 2018 by CEO Stéphane Ouellette.