GM everyone! 🌅 Let's talk about something that's quietly become MASSIVE: tokenized commodities. The market just crossed $7.05 billion in total market cap with over $17.3 billion in monthly transfer volume. This isn't a cool experiment anymore—it's an active component of global trade finance, collateral management, and DeFi infrastructure. And most people are sleeping on it. 😴 Today we're breaking down: - ⚡ The gold duopoly (XAUT vs PAXG) - 🔬 The wild stuff beyond gold (uranium, soybeans, energy) - 🛠️ The infrastructure making it institutional-grade - 💰 Four ways to earn yield on commodities - ⚠️ The risks you MUST understand Let's dive in! 👇 🥇 The Gold Duopoly: XAUT vs PAXG Gold is the anchor of on-chain commodities, especially with prices hitting historic highs around $4,520/oz. But not all tokenized gold is created equal. The market is dominated by two players serving VERY different audiences: Tether Gold (XAUT) — $2.67B Market Cap The "Trader's Gold" 🎯 What it is: - Each token = 1 troy ounce of a specific London Good Delivery bar - You can literally look up which bar is tied to your address - Deeply integrated into CEXs (Bitfinex, Gate.io, OKX) The edge: - ✅ ZERO custody fees (this is huge) - ✅ Built for velocity—move between risk-on crypto and risk-off gold instantly - ✅ Never leave the ecosystem The catch: - ❌ Redemption minimum: 430 oz (~$2M at current prices) - ❌ Most holders will NEVER redeem physical gold - ❌ Less DeFi integration than PAXG Best for: Traders who want gold exposure without leaving crypto, don't need DeFi collateral features Paxos Gold (PAXG) — $2.31B Market Cap The "Institution's Gold" 🏛️ What it is: - Regulated by NYDFS (New York Department of Financial Services) - Each token = 1 fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold - Stored in Brink's vaults The edge: - ✅ Only viable option for U.S. institutions and fintechs - ✅ Dominates DeFi — preferred collateral on Aave and MakerDAO - ✅ Bankruptcy-remote — if Paxos fails, gold belongs to token holders, not creditors - ✅ DAOs prioritize this because it's the safest legal structure

Quick observation from the charts: Bitcoin and IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF) have been moving in near-lockstep since 2023. What we're seeing: - Both assets rallied hard through 2024, peaking around the same time - The recent pullback? Nearly identical trajectory - BTC currently at ~$69.9k, IGV at $82.46 - both down from recent highs Why this matters: This tight correlation tells us Bitcoin is still trading as a risk-on tech asset, not the "digital gold" narrative many hoped for. When software stocks sneeze, BTC catches a cold. For DeFi investors: - Macro tech sentiment matters MORE than you think - Fed policy, tech earnings, and Nasdaq movements should be on your radar - Diversification within crypto alone isn't true diversification if you're ignoring the tech correlation The days of "BTC is uncorrelated" are behind us. We're in the institutional era now - which means macro matters. What are you watching to gauge risk sentiment? Drop your thoughts below. 👇 Not financial advice. Chart analysis for educational purposes.

Hello everyone and welcome. As we begin building out DeFi University together, please know that any ideas you may have for a new tool, a new live call, a new course, anything that you'd like to build or incorporate in to add more value for us, the community members, that is 100% a yes here. This community is AI first, which simply means that we learn together how to use AI tools to build what will generate more value for us, the community members. We hope to foster an environment of learning and growth in many different areas of life within our DeFi University community, and now with these new AI tools any suggestion that any member has which will add value can quickly be built out and incorporated in. It's a very exciting and transformative time that we live in. To foster a sense of community spirit, please introduce yourself in the general chat as you join, and share a bit about yourself so that we can all get to know one another better. Live calls in the community take place every day Monday through Friday and they are open to all members. See you on the next live call and in the DeFi U chats! -David