First-ever gold dividend distribution by a public company
Elemental Royalty Corporation made history with this announcement. The company became the first publicly listed gold company to offer shareholders dividends payable in XAU₮, Tether’s tokenised gold token. Elemental is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. It operates using a royalty and streaming model, providing capital to mine developers in exchange for a percentage of future gold production. Qualifying shareholders can now elect to receive distributions directly in XAU₮ instead of cash.
The move follows Tether’s acquisition of approximately one third of Elemental’s shares in 2025. Elemental CEO David M. Cole said the dividend policy « marks an important milestone » and sets the company apart as « a forward-looking and growth-focused investment. » Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino called it « a major step forward for the gold industry, » adding that tokenised assets can unlock financial models previously out of reach.
Bridge between traditional finance and blockchain
XAU₮ is a digital asset where each token represents one troy fine ounce of physical gold. The gold is stored in Swiss vaults and redeemable in physical form. XAU₮ is available as an ERC-20 on Ethereum and a TRC-20 on TRON. Elemental converts its royalty-derived revenue into XAU₮ and allocates tokens to shareholders on a per-share basis. This gives investors direct exposure to physical gold without managing custody themselves.
Dividends paid in XAU₮ also eliminate cross-border banking fees. Settlement runs on blockchain, operating 24/7 without intermediaries. Most importantly, distributions align with the company’s underlying asset rather than depreciating fiat currency. This sets a precedent other commodity companies could follow in gold, silver, or oil sectors. As gold trades near record highs, the XAU₮ dividend model could accelerate adoption among publicly listed commodity firms.
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