Gold Meets Bitcoin: TRIO Launches Tokenized Gold Bars on BTC Blockchain

A new project is bridging the gap between physical gold and Bitcoin. TRIO, a Bitcoin-native marketplace created by OrdinalsBot, has launched a tokenized gold offering that inscribes the serial numbers of physical gold bars directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain.

The initiative, announced Monday in partnership with Swarm Markets, is called the Gold on Bitcoin collection. Using the Ordinals protocol, metadata from gold bars stored in a Brinks vault in London is inscribed onto Bitcoin, turning them into digital, tradable assets.

Turning Gold Bars Into Bitcoin Tokens

“Every gold bar in Brinks has a serial number,” said OrdinalsBot co-founder Brian Laughlan in an interview with Decrypt. “All you really need to do is attach that serial number to a digital asset—in this case, an Ordinal. It’s baked into the metadata. And that’s it: you’ve now got a tokenized version of gold.”

Each token represents the price of a single ounce of gold. These tokens can be freely traded on TRIO like any other Ordinals asset. However, redemption of the physical gold requires know-your-customer (KYC) verification through Swarm Markets, since bullion is a regulated asset subject to anti-money laundering laws.

“That’s the reality of real-world assets,” Laughlan explained. “They exist in the real world, so real-world laws apply.”

Why Tokenized Gold on Bitcoin?

OrdinalsBot launched TRIO in December 2024, supporting trading of Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and Bitcoin meme coins under the Runes standard. Notable collections have included Runestone, tied to the DOG memecoin, and Project Spartacus, which famously inscribed leaked U.S. military documents onto the blockchain.

The move into gold comes as tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) gain traction, particularly gold-backed digital tokens. According to RWA.xyz, protocols offering tokenized RWAs now hold more than $26 billion in total value. Ethereum-based gold tokens like Tether Gold (XAUT) and Pax Gold (PAXG) already account for billions of dollars in circulation.

Laughlan said Bitcoin was chosen deliberately, highlighting its symbolic connection:
“Launching gold tokens on Bitcoin was intentional. Bitcoin has always been known as ‘digital gold,’ so putting real gold on Bitcoin feels poetic.”

The project is beginning on a modest scale, with just six one-ounce gold bars tokenized so far. However, more can be minted as demand grows. Laughlan added that the goal is to establish a standardized method for inscribing gold via Ordinals, making it easier for other custodians to adopt the same approach.