Elemental Royalty Corporation (ELE) now offers shareholders something no other public gold company has offered before: the option to receive dividends in gold-backed blockchain-based tokens.
In a move announced Tuesday, the Canada-based royalty company said it will distribute shareholder returns using tokenized gold from Tether stablecoin issuer Tether Gold (XAUT).
Shareholders who choose this route will receive their dividends in XAUT rather than fiat money, providing exposure directly linked to the price of gold with the added flexibility of digital settlement.
This is the first time a publicly traded gold company has made such an offer, according to the press release. The move comes after Tether bought a third of Elemental last year.
Gold-backed tokens have become a rapidly growing asset class. The total tokenized gold market has surpassed $5 billion, and XAUT currently leads the sector in both volume and supply. Much of this growth has been driven by retail investors seeking exposure to gold without relying on traditional custodians or brokers.
Read more: Tether’s gold stash surpasses $23 billion as purchases surpass nation states, says Jefferies
