Tether’s XAUT gold-backed token has been certified as Shariah compliant by Amanah Advisors, marking a step toward connecting tokenized real-world assets with Islamic finance markets, according to a Monday statement.

The certification recognizes that XAUT is backed by physical gold ownership and avoids structures prohibited under Islamic finance, including riba, leverage and speculative derivatives.

“Gold has always represented stability and trust across cultures and generations,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated. “With XAUT now recognized as Shariah compliant, we are expanding access to digital gold in a way that respects Islamic finance principles while leveraging the transparency and efficiency of blockchain technology.”

Tether said the certification could help expand access to digital gold across regions with growing Islamic finance activity, including GCC countries, South Asia and parts of Africa. Amanah Advisors will continue supporting governance frameworks for wider Shariah-compliant adoption of XAUT.