Matrixport, the world’s leading all-in-one hub for crypto financial services, announced the official release of a joint research report with the HKUST Institute for Financial Research titled “Tokenized Gold: Redefining Financial Infrastructure for the World’s Oldest and Most Trusted Asset Class.” This publication marks the launch of their collaborative research on gold tokenisation products. Going forward, the two parties will continue to deliver case studies and data-driven research, deepening expertise in this field and equipping the industry with practical insights and valuable perspectives.
This academic report was co-authored by Bo Tang, Head of the HKUST Institute for Financial Research, and Eva Meng, Head of Matrixdock, Matrixport’s RWA tokenisation platform. The report begins by examining efficiency challenges of the new financial paradigm, highlighting that gold tokenisation can serve as a foundational asset within the emerging financial architecture.
The report notes that growing pressures on monetary trust worldwide, coupled with dual-challenges of efficiency and adaptability in cross-border payment systems, are intensifying the inherent constraints of traditional value assets. With growing discrepancies in global asset allocation and limited integration between national capital markets, the structural limitation of traditional core reserve assets such as gold has become increasingly evident. At the same time, emerging ecosystems such as blockchain lack effective interfaces with real-world financial infrastructure, making it difficult for asset interaction, credit alignment, and value interoperability. As a result, markets are calling for new financial architecture and digital frameworks to bridge these gaps.
Drawing on on-chain asset flow data, transaction structures, and lending behaviour across key dimensions, Bo Tang and Eva Meng outline the on-chain value and structural advantages of tokenized gold, along with its applications in payments, trading, liquidity dynamics, and broader real-world use cases. They also examine the trust frameworks, regulatory landscape, and potential risks and challenges shaping the RWA tokenisation sector. Leveraging unique insights and robust on-chain data, the report offers research findings that bridge theory and practice, offering actionable insights for the industry.
“Tokenized gold backed by physical gold is bringing greater transparency and liquidity to the gold industry. It is not a challenge to the financial system but rather a response to structural issues within the gold sector itself, including persistent problems such as information opacity, fragmented liquidity, and limited use cases. With verifiable on-chain holdings, open interaction interfaces and seamless integration with DeFi, gold tokens are evolving from mere price anchors into core components of financial applications,” said Eva Meng, Head of Matrixdock. “We will continue to work with the HKUST Institute for Financial Research to explore practical pathways for applying RWA tokenisation to traditional assets such as gold, driving the digital transformation of the gold industry.”
Bo Tang, Head of the HKUST Institute for Financial Research, remarked, “Amid the global trend toward financial digitisation and asset tokenisation, gold—universally recognised as a store of value free from sovereign credit risk—is facing a historic opportunity for structural transformation. As the real-world asset (RWA) most likely to achieve scale, gold tokens not only extend gold’s traditional role as the ‘ultimate store of value’ but also leverage programmable, composable and cross-chain features to integrate monetary and asset attributes. They are poised to serve as core collateral in next-generation DeFi infrastructure, a neutral settlement medium for cross-border payments, and a digital reserve asset for emerging market economies, thereby playing a more pivotal and multifaceted role in the future global monetary and asset system.”
In August 2025, Matrixport signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the HKUST Institute for Financial Research to jointly pursue cutting-edge financial research on digital assets and RWA tokenisation, with the goal of addressing real-world challenges and fostering sustainable growth in both Hong Kong’s and the global fintech ecosystems. The release of the academic report “Tokenized Gold: Redefining Financial Infrastructure for the World’s Oldest and Most Trusted Asset Class” marks the beginning of Matrixport and HKUST Institute for Financial Research’s dedicated research into gold tokenisation products. Looking ahead, both parties will strengthen collaboration between industry and academia, delivering deeper insights and impactful findings to the market, and accelerating the integration of RWA tokenisation with traditional finance.
About Matrixport
Founded in 2019, Matrixport is the world’s leading all-in-one hub for crypto financial services. The platform is committed to providing every user with a personalized Super Account that integrates crypto trading, investment, loan, custody, RWA, research and more. With $6 billion in AUM (assets under management), Matrixport offers global users diverse crypto-financial solutions designed for optimal capital efficiency and sustainable returns.
As a Group and through its local subsidiaries, Matrixport has received the Trust or Company Service Provider / Money Lender Licenses in Hong Kong, and the FINMA Asset Management License in Switzerland. The company operates as an Appointed Representative in the UK, is registered as an MSB in the US, and is a member of Switzerland’s FINMA SRO-VFQ. Additionally, Matrixport’s subsidiary, Fly Wing, has received the MPI License from MAS in Singapore. It was also recognized by CB Insights as one of the “50 Most Promising Blockchain Companies”, featured in the Hurun “2024 Global Unicorn List” and recognised as a Fintech Unicorn in Singapore in 2025.
Matrixdock is a premier platform under Matrixport Group that offers access to high-quality Real World Assets (RWA) through advanced tokenization technology. As the first in Asia to introduce a tokenized short-term treasury bill product, STBT, Matrixdock earned the Ecosystem Excellence TADS Award in 2023 for Trading & Liquidity Solutions. In 2024, Matrixdock launched XAUm, a tokenized gold asset fully backed by 99.99% purity gold, providing investors with a trusted and transparent digital asset linked to LBMA-accredited gold.
Matrixport official website: https://www.matrixport.com
About HKUST Institute for Finance Research
The institute’s mission is to address critical social and economic issues of our time by combining and leveraging knowledge and resources across different intellectual disciplines and fields, as well as from different schools and universities.
By collaborating with colleagues in finance, economics, and other disciplines, as well as industry practitioners and policymakers in Hong Kong, mainland China, Europe and the US, we aim to create an interdisciplinary, international platform that a) fosters communication and corporation across different stakeholders; b) promotes cutting-edge research that tackles practical issues; c) informs industry practitioners and policymakers for better decision making.
Our proposed research activities and programs will focus on tackling some of the most important challenges and opportunities in Hong Kong today. The institute has four main research themes: a) Technological Innovations; b) Environmental and Social Responsibility; c) Wealth Management; d) Macro-finance and Geo-economics.
Media Contact
Contact: Sunny Sun
Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities.
