Binance has launched new perpetual futures contracts tied to gold and silver, expanding the crypto exchange’s derivatives offering beyond digital assets as demand grows for exposure to traditional safe-haven markets.
Binance said Thursday it has introduced gold and silver perpetual futures that allow investors to trade the metals around the clock without an expiration date.
The contracts are settled in Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin, giving traders onchain access to price movements in precious metals rather than direct ownership of the underlying assets.
The new products, listed as XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT, are designed to track the price of gold and silver and are aimed at bridging traditional financial markets with crypto trading infrastructure, Binance said in a statement. The exchange added that more traditional asset-linked contracts are planned.
Binance’s perpetual contracts are regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) with licenses obtained under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) framework, through Next Exchange Limited, a Binance entity.
The new contracts are a “key step in bridging traditional finance and crypto innovation,” backed by “strong regulatory compliance and trust,” said Jeff Li, vice president of product at Binance.
Other exchanges offering precious metals-tied perpetual contracts include Coinbase, MEXC, BTCC, BingX, and Bybit, with the latter only offering perpetual gold contracts.
Gold and silver rise to new all-time highs on growing safe-haven demand
Binance’s offering follows a period of strong demand for the world’s leading precious metals, which both logged new all-time highs.
Geopolitical tensions and a weakening US dollar drove gold and silver to new all-time highs in December as gold’s price peaked above $4,549 per ounce on Dec. 26, while silver reached $83 per ounce on Dec. 28, according to data from goldprice.org.
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Both precious metals outperformed Bitcoin over the past year, which declined by around 5%. Gold rose 67% while silver rallied 152% during 2025. Gold traded at $4,424 per ounce while silver changed hands above $75.60 at the time of writing.
Tokenized commodities also surged to new all-time highs in December, following the wider rally in precious metals.
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Binance’s decision to settle the contracts in USDT comes as Tether continues to expand its presence. The company has opted not to seek authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, citing concerns over how the rules apply to stablecoins. At the same time, USDT has gained regulatory recognition in some jurisdictions, including Abu Dhabi, where it has been approved for use by regulated firms.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance to clarify the jurisdictional availability of the contracts, including whether they will be offered to users in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, but did not receive a response by publication time.
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