In 2025, gold has been one of the best-performing assets, gaining approximately 35% year-to-date and reaching all-time highs above $3,600 an ounce, driven by geopolitical uncertainties and central bank buying. The partnership between Chintai Nexus and SmartGold allows US retirement planners to access gold through blockchain-based tokenization, enhancing the interest in digital assets. Gold is also seeing increased tokenization, with companies like Tether introducing gold-backed stablecoins. Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) lending is experiencing a surge as the adoption of stablecoins and real-world assets grows, with total value locked in DeFi lending protocols climbing to $127 billion. Figure Technology Solutions is planning to raise up to $526 million in an IPO, and crypto mining company Gryphon Digital Mining has completed a merger with American Bitcoin, positioning itself as a significant player in the sector. This week’s updates underline the increasing integration of traditional assets with blockchain technology and the evolution of DeFi.

Source 🔗