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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