The market for blockchain based commodities is gaining momentum as precious metals push to new records. Tokenized versions of gold and other commodities are nearing a major milestone, reflecting rising investor interest in onchain exposure to real world assets at a time of heightened demand for safe havens.

As gold, silver and platinum climb to fresh highs, tokenized commodities are benefiting from renewed attention, positioning themselves as a bridge between traditional markets and blockchain infrastructure.

Precious metals rally fuels tokenized growth

Gold, silver and platinum reached record levels on Friday, according to TradingView data. Spot gold surged to as high as $4,530 per ounce, extending a powerful rally driven by macroeconomic uncertainty and strong investment demand. Silver also briefly touched a new all-time high of $74.56 per ounce, though it remains a smaller contributor to the tokenized commodities market compared with gold.

This rally has had a direct impact on blockchain based commodities. The total value of tokenized commodities rose by 11 percent in the month leading up to Friday, reaching $3.93 billion, according to data from RWA.xyz. The sector is now closing in on the $4 billion mark, a level that highlights how closely onchain assets can track movements in traditional markets.

Tether Gold and Paxos dominate the sector

Gold backed tokens continue to account for the bulk of tokenized commodity value. Tether Gold XAUt is currently the largest tokenized commodity, with a market value of about $1.74 billion. Paxos Gold PAXG follows closely at $1.61 billion, making these two tokens the clear leaders in the space.

These products allow investors to gain exposure to physical gold through blockchain networks, offering onchain transfers and trading that are not restricted by traditional market hours. Despite these advantages, pricing, liquidity and redemption processes are still tied to legacy financial systems, meaning tokenized commodities remain closely linked to the underlying offchain infrastructure.

Tokenized commodities within the broader RWA push

Tokenized commodities form part of the wider real world asset sector, which aims to bring traditional assets such as bonds, funds, commodities and private equity onto blockchain rails. By issuing digital representations of real assets, RWA projects seek to improve settlement speed, reduce operational friction and enable fractional ownership.

Interest in this sector has been growing steadily. Standard Chartered has projected that tokenized RWAs, excluding stablecoins, could expand to $2 trillion by 2028. The bank estimates that around $250 billion of this growth could come from less liquid asset classes, including private equity and commodities, as institutions look for new ways to modernize market access.

Ethereum leads tokenization, but activity remains limited

Ethereum has emerged as the dominant network for RWA tokenization. According to RWA.xyz, Ethereum accounts for roughly 65 percent of the tokenized RWA market, representing about $12.7 billion in value. BNB Chain ranks second with a 10.5 percent share, or around $1.85 billion.

The expansion of tokenized assets can contribute to higher onchain activity and transaction fees, particularly on Ethereum. However, blockchain data suggests that RWA tokenization still represents a relatively small slice of overall network usage when compared with established use cases such as stablecoins and fungible token trading.

Over the past 30 days, Ethereum ranked fourth in total transaction fees, generating $11.41 million, according to data from Nansen. Tron led the rankings with $29.5 million, driven largely by stablecoin activity. BNB Chain and Solana followed in second and third place, reflecting their popularity for token launches and retail focused trading.

A growing market tied to traditional foundations

While tokenized commodities are growing quickly, their evolution remains closely linked to traditional financial infrastructure. Custody, audits and redemption mechanisms are still handled offchain, and market confidence depends on the credibility of issuers and custodians.

Even so, the steady rise toward a $4 billion market cap shows that demand for onchain access to real assets is no longer niche. As precious metals continue to attract investors and blockchain rails mature, tokenized commodities are carving out a clearer role within the digital asset ecosystem.