A year after the release of XAUt – a commodity-backed token pegged to gold – Bitfinex has announced the launch of a perpetual contract for the trading pair Tether Gold/Bitcoin. The new product will be settled in BTC and will offer up to 100x leverage for users.
XAUt/Bitcoin Perpetual Contract on Bitfinex
Launched in 2012, Bitfinex is among the oldest cryptocurrency trading venues owned and operated by iFinex Financial Technologies Limited. Back in 2019, the Hong Kong-based exchange expanded its platform by the release of Bitfinex Derivatives – “a digital token trading platform offering services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers.”
In a press release shared with CryptoPotato, the exchange announced the addition of the latest product on its derivatives platform. It comes in the form of a perpetual contract for Tether Gold/Bitcoin (XAUt/BTC).
The product is scheduled to go live at 12:00 PM BST on April 9th and will offer users up to 100x leverage. Interestingly, Bitfinex said the contract will be settled in bitcoin.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex Derivatives, noted that the company expects a “ready uptake for this Tether Gold Bitcoin perpetual contract.” He believes this new product should satisfy the needs of sophisticated traders by enabling them to hedge and manage risks.
It’s worth noting that the products on Bitfinex Derivatives are “only available in eligible jurisdictions and are exclusive to verified users.” The statement highlighted US-based customers are “not permitted to use Bitfinex or any of its services.”
The XAUt Initiation
Tether, the company behind the most widely utilized stablecoin – USDt – and Bitfinex’s sister firm, announced the release of its first commodity-backed token in early 2020. Upon its launch, XAUt was available only as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network and TRC-20 on TRON’s blockchain.
The innovative product enabled holders to obtain undivided ownership rights to gold on the specified bars. The allocated precious metal is identifiable with a unique serial number, purity, and weight.
However, there was a somewhat high minimum purchase amount equaling to 50 XAUt. Essentially, this represented roughly 50 fine troy ounces, which cost about $75,000 at the time.
