Gold-Backed Cryptos Surge As Israel-Iran Tensions Ignite Safe-Haven Rush — Coins Linked To Tether, PAX Top 30% YTD, Outshine Bitcoin - Patria Investments (NASDAQ:PAX)

Gold and its cryptocurrency derivatives surged Thursday night as investors sought refuge in the safe haven following Israel's strikes on Iran.

What happened: Spot gold was up 1.20% to $3,427.51 per ounce as of this writing, its highest level in more than a month. Gold futures on the Commodity Exchange were up 1.63% to $3,457.70.

The latest spike extended the yellow metal's year-to-date gains past 30%.

The gains flowed down to physical gold-backed cryptocurrencies, causing similar increases in Tether Gold and PAX Gold.

The two coins also extended their year-to-date gains past 30%, becoming one of the most valuable cryptocurrency investments in 2025.

Cryptocurrency	Gains +/-	YTD Gains +/-	Price (Recorded at 11:30 p.m. ET)
Pax Gold PAX/USD	+1.98%	+31.46%	$3,435.82
Tether Gold XAUT/USD	+1.95%	+30.95%	$3,456.47

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These returns contrasted with the drop in heavyweights like Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD, which were down 3.38% and 8.91%, respectively, as of this writing.

Renowned gold bug Peter Schiff contrasted gold's rise with Bitcoin's decline, calling into question the apex cryptocurrency’s widely touted safe-haven narrative.

"How can anyone consider Bitcoin to be a digital version of gold?," he asked.

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