SmartGold Partners with Chintai Nexus for Tokenized Gold in IRAs
SmartGold, a provider of gold-backed individual retirement accounts (IRAs), has teamed up with the tokenization platform Chintai Nexus to enable U.S. investors to place their gold holdings on blockchain networks and earn a yield through decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Under this structure, IRA-held gold is tokenized on Chintai’s regulated platform at a 1:1 ratio, allowing it to be utilized as collateral in DeFi lending markets like Morpho and Kamino. This collateral can unlock liquidity that can be reinvested in other ventures, all while the gold remains stored securely and insured. According to the press released, the account’s tax-deferred status is preserved.
This initiative addresses a longstanding dilemma for retirement savers: while gold is considered a stable investment, it typically does not generate income. Historically, investors holding physical gold in an IRA faced the tough decision between enjoying the tax benefits of their accounts and the opportunity to leverage their gold for income-generating strategies, as IRS regulations made it nearly impossible to combine the two without incurring penalties.
“For decades, gold investors have faced a difficult choice: security or yield,” said Aaron Haley, managing director of SmartGold, in a statement. “We’re turning the ultimate safe-haven asset into a powerful, productive tool for building wealth.”
This rollout enhances access to tokenization for SmartGold’s $1.6 billion in vaulted assets, making it one of the largest deployments of tokenized gold to date and the first specifically designed for U.S. retirement accounts.
Moreover, this development highlights the increasing focus on tokenizing real-world assets, such as commodities, equities, and funds—a sector that has garnered interest from prominent financial firms.
