TLDR:

• Tokenized gold market cap surpasses $6B, adding $2B year-to-date growth.
• Over 1.2 million ounces of physical gold are now back on-chain tokens.
• XAUT and PAXG control nearly 96.7% of the total sector market share.
• Rising gold prices near $5,000 are driving demand for tokenized assets.

The tokenized gold market has crossed $6 billion in total market value this year. The sector added nearly $2 billion year-to-date as gold prices approached $5,000 per ounce.

More than 1.2 million ounces of physical gold are now back on-chain tokens.

Market Expansion Tracks Rising Gold Prices

Posts shared by Coin Bureau on X reported that tokenized gold recently crossed the $6 billion mark. The update noted that the sector added roughly $2 billion in 2026 alone. Growth has accelerated as bullion prices climbed toward $5,000 per ounce.

Investors have increasingly turned to tokenized real-world assets for exposure to commodities. Gold-backed tokens allow users to hold allocated bullion through blockchain networks. As prices advanced, demand for digital representations of gold also strengthened.

Data shared in the posts showed that more than 1.2 million ounces of physical gold are locked to back these tokens.

Each token reflects ownership of a portion of stored gold reserves. Holders can therefore gain gold exposure without managing physical storage.

Tokenized gold trades continuously across supported platforms. This structure enables transfers at any time, unlike traditional bullion markets with fixed trading hours. As a result, market access has expanded to a broader base of participants.

XAUT and PAXG Maintain Strong Market Control

The market remains highly concentrated between two issuers. Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) account for approximately 96.7% of the total market share. Other tokenized gold products represent only a small fraction of the supply.

XAUT is backed by gold stored in Swiss vaults. PAXG, in comparison, is supported by allocated gold audited monthly in London. Both tokens are designed to track the price of physical bullion closely.

Supporters cite around-the-clock trading and compatibility with decentralized finance platforms as key features. Tokenized gold can integrate with wallets and blockchain applications. This structure allows users to transfer or utilize gold-backed assets efficiently.

At the same time, the sector’s heavy reliance on two issuers remains clear. Concentration levels leave limited diversification within the tokenized gold market. Even so, the asset class continues to expand as gold prices remain elevated.

With bullion near historic levels and blockchain adoption growing steadily, tokenized gold maintains strong alignment between physical reserves and digital markets.

XRP price could rally 100% if BlackRock files for an XRP ETF, as analysts flag a shift in institutional allocations beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into alternative assets.

A cryptocurrency analyst has projected that XRP (XRP) price could rally 100% if BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, files for an XRP exchange-traded fund, according to statements reported by Finbold.

Zach Rector, a crypto market commentator who has followed digital asset markets for several years, stated that the current institutional environment represents a departure from previous market cycles. Rector cited growing diversification in institutional cryptocurrency allocations as evidence of changing investment patterns.

Recent fund flow data indicates selective outflows from certain Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products, while alternative cryptocurrency vehicles, including XRP-linked instruments, have begun attracting capital inflows. Market analysts have characterized this activity as potential evidence that institutional investors may be expanding exposure beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Decentralized prediction market Polymarket is catering to its high-risk audience by introducing 5-minute crypto markets and teasing an airdrop for power users.

The new 5-minute markets allow users to bet on whether or not BTC’s 5-minute candles will close up or down, while providing market maker rebates to liquidity providers.

Following the launch, Polymarket’s “senior intern” and developer, Mustafa Aljatery, responded to one of the platform’s power users in a post saying “1m markets and $POLY next.”

This is not Aljatery’s first time leaning into token and Layer 2 speculation; however, the prediction market began the month by filing a trademark for the $POLY ticker, and Polymarket’s growth lead, William Legate, seemingly confirmed the airdrop after responding “no” to a user who wondered if the platform’s snapshot was already taken.

The speculation comes as Polymarket’s volumes continue to surge to new all-time highs, with almost $3.4 billion traded in January alone.

It took more than three years for Polymarket to reach $3.4 billion in volume; now it is clearing that in a single month. So far, $4.9 billion of volume has been traded on Polymarket in 2026.

Despite all the rumors surrounding a potential token and Layer 2 launch, Polymarket has yet to publicly disclose any information about its future structure and whether investors will receive tokens or equity.

The platform’s most recent funding round valued Polymarket at $9 billion, with a $2 billion investment led by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Cryptocurrency markets have undergone structural changes that may prevent most alternative digital assets from reaching their previous all-time highs.

Institutional capital has fundamentally altered market dynamics that previously characterized retail-driven cycles tied to Bitcoin halving events.

In 2018, approximately 1,000 cryptocurrencies traded in markets that exhibited more predictable patterns, according to the analyst. Traders typically rotated between altcoin-to-Bitcoin pairs and exited positions following post-halving bull runs. Market behavior through 2021 remained largely retail-led, with halving events carrying significant psychological influence and price patterns repeating with consistency.

That framework has since changed, according to market analyst Inmortal. Institutional investors have directed billions of dollars primarily toward Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, along with select large-cap assets. Thousands of new tokens launched in 2025 alone, dispersing available capital across a broader range of assets.

The analyst stated that retail investors anticipated institutional capital inflows would benefit the broader market. Instead, large institutional players concentrated holdings in major assets while retail capital pursued short-term investment narratives. As liquidity is distributed across numerous tokens, potential gains for most altcoins diminished.

Under these conditions, 99% of altcoins may never return to prior all-time highs, according to the analyst’s projection. The four-year cycle models that previously guided market participants may no longer function as reliable indicators.

What happened?

The crypto market is experiencing a shift that could leave most altcoins permanently below their previous all-time highs. With liquidity spread across thousands of tokens, the chances of altcoins recovering are slim. The traditional four-year cycle models, which once guided market predictions, may no longer hold up as reliable indicators.

In the past, these cycle models worked because they were based on factors like Bitcoin halvings and limited market awareness, which made the cycles easier to predict. However, as these patterns became widely recognized, their predictive value diminished. A 2022 projection had anticipated a cycle peak around late 2025, and this was largely aligned with the market high seen in October 2025. But the current market structure is showing signs of deviation from previous cycles.

Unlike the 2018-2021 cycle, where the market saw a sharp 75% price decline followed by over a year of sideways movement, today’s decline is happening much faster. Despite this, long-term support levels, such as the 200-week moving average, have remained intact, suggesting that the market is more resilient than a typical cycle-end scenario would imply.

Instead of expecting a prolonged downturn followed by 600 days of sideways movement, the analyst believes the market may already have completed 80-90% of the expected price decline. After that, about 200 days of consolidation may occur before price expansion resumes. This suggests a mid-cycle reset, challenging the consensus view that a traditional bear market and significant losses are still on the horizon.

If this scenario plays out, the market could see an earlier-than-expected recovery, as the price compression will likely resolve more quickly than many anticipate. However, for altcoins, the outlook remains bleak, with most failing to reach their previous highs due to the concentration of capital in larger assets. Until the market decisively breaks through current support levels, the downtrend is expected to persist within a broader expansion phase.

Less than a year after Mantra’s OM token inexplicably plummeted 90% in minutes, the real-world asset (RWA) protocol is rebranding to a new token, and OM is up 33% today after MEXC announced its support for the token swap.

OM’s market capitalization jumped from $55 million to $72 million after the crypto exchange said it would support the upcoming migration from OM to MANTRA. MEXC will accept deposits of OM, which will be swapped 1:4 to MANTRA.

Despite rallying 33%, OM is still down 99% from its all-time high of $8.5 in February 2025 and currently trades at $0.06.

The rebranding comes just one month after Mantra announced staff cuts amidst a company restructuring.

While it remains to be seen whether this restructuring and token migration will help restore Mantra’s tarnished image, other protocols that have taken the token migration route have not fared well.

The most notable examples include Polygon’s migration from MATIC to POL, and Fantom’s migration and pivot from FTM to Sonic and its S token.

MATIC reached an all-time high fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $29.2 billion in December 2021, and POL now trades at a $1 billion FDV. FTM also reached its previous all-time high in December 2021, achieving an $11 billion FDV, but S now trades at just $171 million.

TLDR:

• FedEx will operate a Hedera network node and hold equal voting rights with other council members. 
• Hedera’s enterprise-grade distributed ledger enables secure data verification across organizations. 
• FedEx executive calls digital supply chain transformation inevitable, requiring neutral trust layers. 
• Partnership aims to reduce cross-border commerce friction through interoperable data verification.
  

FedEx Corp. announced its membership in the Hedera Council on February 13, 2026. The logistics giant will contribute operational expertise to support distributed ledger technology for global supply chains.

Hedera Council consists of leading organizations governing the Hedera network’s enterprise-grade infrastructure. FedEx will operate a network node and participate in governance decisions alongside other council members.

This partnership aims to reduce friction in cross-border commerce through secure data verification.

Strategic Focus on Digital Infrastructure

FedEx’s entry into the Hedera Council aligns with its broader digital transformation strategy. The company seeks to enable global commerce to operate at data speed rather than paper-based processes.

Vishal Talwar, executive vice president and chief digital officer at FedEx Corp., addressed this transition directly. He serves as president of FedEx Dataworks alongside his corporate role.

Talwar emphasized the inevitable nature of supply chain evolution. “The digital transformation of global supply chains is inevitable,” he stated.

Supply chains are becoming increasingly digital-native environments requiring new trust mechanisms. “Trusted data must be shared and verified across many parties without increasing risk or centralizing control,” Talwar explained.

The executive highlighted Hedera’s specific advantages for enterprise operations. “Hedera provides a neutral, enterprise-grade trust layer that enables verification at global scale,” he noted.

The platform allows organizations like FedEx to build differentiated capabilities on established infrastructure. Companies maintain control over sensitive operational data within their own environments.

The distributed ledger technology supports interoperable digital ecosystems across multiple platforms. FedEx can develop proprietary services while participating in shared verification standards.

This balance between collaboration and competition defines the council’s approach. Equal voting rights ensure no single member dominates governance decisions.

Enabling Cross-Border Commerce Efficiency

Tom Sylvester, president of the Hedera Council, welcomed the partnership announcement. “We are proud to welcome FedEx to the Council,” Sylvester said.

He recognized the company’s extensive experience in global logistics and commerce. “FedEx brings deep operational insight into global logistics and commerce,” the council president stated.

Sylvester emphasized the value of FedEx’s perspective during the industry transition. “Their perspective will be valuable as the industry transitions toward digitally native supply chains,” he explained.

The council anticipates productive collaboration on infrastructure standards. “We look forward to working together to advance trusted, interoperable data verification,” Sylvester added.

The partnership addresses growing complexity across jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks. Hedera’s verification capabilities enable secure data sharing between organizations.

Automation and digital visibility become more feasible with trusted infrastructure foundations. The technology supports continuous compliance requirements across international trade environments.

FedEx brings decades of logistics experience to infrastructure discussions. This operational knowledge helps shape practical applications for distributed ledger technology.

The focus remains on real-world implementation, addressing actual supply chain challenges. Hedera’s enterprise-grade design supports high-volume transactions while maintaining governance controls.

The partnership reflects broader industry recognition of decentralized infrastructure’s importance. Supply chain digitization requires trust mechanisms spanning organizational boundaries.

The Hedera Council model allows enterprises to collectively govern shared infrastructure. Members compete on services while cooperating on foundational technology standards.