Gate metal: De refugio en metales preciosos a un marco de negociación unificado para el ciclo de metales industriales RWA

Gate Metal Sector, by integrating precious metal contracts and on-chain metal token assets, offers market participants full coverage from gold and silver to copper, aluminum, and nickel. This article systematically reviews the asset types, trading mechanisms, and allocation ideas within the Gate Metal product system.

Market positioning and asset types of on-chain metals

On-chain metals refer to physical metal assets digitized through blockchain technology. Its core operation involves storing compliant LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) standard physical metals in regulated vaults and issuing equivalent tokens on-chain, with each token representing a specific ownership share of the corresponding metal.

Currently, the on-chain metal market can be divided into two main categories. The first is tokenized precious metals, including Tether Gold (XAUT) and PAX Gold (PAXG), both backed by physical gold, with total market values of approximately $2.65 billion and $2.41 billion respectively as of mid-April 2026, occupying a major share of the on-chain gold market. In the silver sector, Kinesis Silver (KAG) and the recently launched XAGm are representative, with the latter adopting the FRS (Fungible Reserve Standard) issuance framework, based on physical silver that meets LBMA standards.

The second category is perpetual contracts for industrial metals. Gate Metal Sector launched aluminum (XAL), copper (XCU), nickel (XNI), and lead (XPB) perpetual contracts in January 2026. This product line incorporates traditional industrial metals into the crypto derivatives trading system, enabling market participants to engage with assets closely related to global manufacturing and AI infrastructure.

From a market structure perspective, the expansion path of the on-chain metals sector is clear. Taking silver as an example, the purchase volume of tokenized silver increased by over 400% in early 2026, reflecting broad institutional and retail interest in on-chain precious metal allocation. A report by Bitfinex also pointed out that tokenized commodities have expanded from precious metals to fields like oil, natural gas, and agricultural products, demonstrating the cross-category expansion potential of this model.

Gate Metal Sector product architecture

Currently, Gate Metal Sector has built a three-layer product system, covering different asset classes and trading methods.

Precious Metal Perpetual Contracts

Gold (XAU) and silver (XAG) USDT-margined perpetual contracts are core products of Gate Metal Sector, launched in January 2026. These contracts offer 24/7 continuous trading. Pricing uses a multi-source index mechanism to reduce the impact of abnormal price fluctuations in a single market, ensuring price transparency and verifiability.

On-chain precious metal spot

XAUT and PAXG can be traded directly on the Gate spot market. Each XAUT token corresponds to one troy ounce of physical gold stored in a Swiss professional vault. As of April 17, 2026, XAUT was priced at $4,772.1, and PAXG at $4,775.4, with both prices highly correlated with spot gold.

Industrial metal contracts

On January 27, 2026, Gate Metal Sector launched USDT-margined perpetual contracts for four industrial metals: aluminum, copper, nickel, and lead.

In addition to the above three layers, Gate TradFi Sector also launched five metal spread trading pairs: XAGAUD, XAUAUD, XAUEUR, XAUJPY, and XPDUSD, supporting fixed leverage from 20x to 100x, providing additional options for traders with cross-border currency valuation needs.

Metal allocation ideas on-chain

Under different macro environments and risk preferences, the allocation methods for on-chain metals can show differentiated paths.

Conservative allocation: physical-backed token portfolio

For participants emphasizing asset security, physical gold-backed tokens like XAUT and PAXG can serve as the foundation of allocation. Each of these assets is supported by audited physical metals, with transparent on-chain reserves. Compared to holding physical gold, on-chain tokens eliminate storage and insurance costs, while supporting 24/7 trading and instant settlement.

Based on gold tokens, silver tokens can be appropriately included to diversify the asset structure. Silver has both financial attributes and industrial demand. In 2026, the silver market is expected to face a supply gap of about 8,000 tons, driven by mine shutdowns and demand from photovoltaics, new energy vehicles, and AI data centers. Gold provides stability as a value anchor, while silver introduces higher market activity and cyclical features, forming a complementary relationship.

Aggressive allocation: perpetual contract trading

For market participants seeking higher capital efficiency, Gate Metal Sector’s perpetual contracts offer leverage tools and two-way trading space. The 24/7 trading mechanism allows participants to adjust positions immediately in response to interest rate policy changes, geopolitical events, or macroeconomic data releases, without waiting for traditional market open hours.

Perpetual contracts can also be used to hedge with spot tokens. Holding XAUT spot while establishing a reverse position on XAU contracts based on market conditions helps manage short-term volatility risk of the spot holdings.

Multi-asset diversified allocation

The unique value of on-chain metals lies in their relatively low correlation with crypto assets. Incorporating a certain proportion of precious and industrial metals into the overall asset portfolio can reduce dependence on the direction of a single market. Regarding industrial metals, copper is driven by AI data center construction and global electrification trends; in 2026, AI data centers are expected to consume 740,000 tons of copper. Aluminum benefits from the lightweighting demand of new energy vehicles.

Overall, Gate Metal Sector’s three-layer architecture—precious metal contracts, on-chain spot tokens, and industrial metal contracts—provides market participants with multiple options from value storage to active trading. Participants can flexibly adjust asset proportions and leverage levels based on their risk tolerance and market outlook.

Conclusion

From physical-backed precious metal tokens to leveraged industrial metal perpetual contracts, Gate Metal’s product matrix covers both stable holding and flexible trading needs. Against the backdrop of continuous expansion of tokenized commodities markets, on-chain metals provide an additional allocation dimension with low correlation to native crypto assets.