SmartGold and Chintai are partnering to bring $1.6 billion worth of physical gold into U.S. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The initiative will convert $1.6 billion of gold into digital tokens on a blockchain, allowing IRA holders to gain greater control over their precious metal holdings. The gold tokens can also be used as collateral in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications, integrating a traditional safe-haven asset directly into the modern digital economy. This move aligns with a broader push by major financial institutions into the Real-World Assets (RWA) space, with BlackRock’s tokenized fund BUIDL demonstrating the potential of tokenization. The Boston Consulting Group has projected the RWA tokenization market to reach $16 trillion by 2030, highlighting the potential of such integrations.