Co. with Yield-Earning, Gold-Backed Token Gains Coverage

Source: John Todaro 12/01/2025

Streamex Corp. (STEX:NASDAQ) boasts a novel product in a high-growth vertical with a massive total addressable market, an ability to scale, and the potential for significant operating leverage as it expands, noted a Needham & Co. report.

Streamex Corp. (STEX:NASDAQ) had research coverage launched on it by Needham & Co. Analyst John Todaro with a Buy rating and US$12 per share (US$12/share) price target, he reported in a Nov. 25 initiation note.

“We view Streamex as an attractive way to gain exposure to the early stages of real world asset (RWA) tokenization,” Todaro wrote.

188% Return Implied

Streamex was trading at about US$4.16/share at the time of Todaro’s report, the analyst noted.

From that price, the return to target is 188%.

Todaro noted that Needham’s US$12 price target is based on a 2027 price:earnings multiple of 23.5x. This is a notable discount to its peer group, comprised primarily of fintech companies with tokenization businesses. They include Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL:NYSE), tokenizing fiat currencies to create stablecoins; Figure Technology Solutions Inc. (FIGR:NASDAQ), tokenizing credit markets; Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN:NASDAQ), a crypto brokerage and blockchain platform; and Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD:NASDAQ), a brokerage with crypto offerings.

Streamex has 40.07 million shares outstanding. Its market cap is US$166.7 million (US$166.7M). Its 52-week range is US$0.40–14.11/share.

What Company Does

Headquartered in Florida, Streamex is a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization company focused on converting traditional commodities into digital assets on a blockchain, and issuing, managing, and servicing those tokens, Todaro described.

Streamex’s recently launched first offering is a one-of-a-kind, tokenized gold product, GLDY, with on-chain proof-of-reserve via its partnership with Chainlink, with institutional-grade custody, and with a yield through its partnership with Monetary Metals. Streamex is responsible for the tokenization of gold and distribution, whereas Monetary Metals manages the placement of gold leases.

Monetary Metals, which has carried out nearly 100 leases ranging from US$15–100M, is becoming one of the largest leasing marketplaces. Lease terms typically are six to 12 months. Most lessees are miners and jewelers.

The presale of GLDY launched around Nov. 10. Initial volumes of about US$100M are expected in the near term with the potential to scale by year-end 2026 (YE26) to US$1 billion-plus (US$1B-plus), noted Todaro. GLDY will be leased into institutionally managed programs by Monetary Metals, generating an annualized yield of up to 4%, paid in ounces of gold.

Tokenization Benefits

There are many advantages to tokenizing assets, Todaro wrote. These are increased access to capital markets, including global ones; fractional ownership; markets trading around the clock; self-custody of the ownership representation; enhanced liquidity; faster settlement times; and quicker transaction speeds.

“In short, tokenization allows assets to be traded and settled globally across a blockchain with limited friction and fewer to no intermediaries, in comparison to traditional markets,” the analyst added.

Novel Product Offered

Todaro presented the key points of its bullish investment thesis on Streamex.

Streamex’s GLDY differs from competitor platforms’ tokenized gold offerings and from traditional gold exposure in a major way. It generates a yield, and it amounts to about 4%. Specifically, Monetary Metals generally lends gold to institutional counterparties at about 6%. Of that, a take rate of about a 1.25% yield will go to Streamex; a 0.5% yield will go to Monetary Metals, and about a 4% yield will go to the end lender.

Today, most investors access gold through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), representing most of the tradable market. Generally, these investment vehicles provide investors only price exposure, no income, and investors pay management fees of about 30–50 basis points.

GLDY, instead, through Streamex’s partnership with Monetary Metals, leases pooled physical gold to vetted commercial borrowers with an up to 4% annual percentage yield target. “This ‘yield-in-kind’ mechanism” increases an investor’s gold holdings over time if the leasing programs perform as expected. Monetary Metals will lease GLDY into insured (with Lloyd’s of London and Allianz), institutionally managed programs, significantly lessening the counterparty risk.

“In today’s market, GLDY addresses the usual drawback of gold being a non-income-generating asset,” Todaro wrote.

Opportunity is Huge

Tokenizing RWAs is expected to play a key role in reshaping financial markets, especially cryptocurrency markets, over the next five to 10 years, wrote Todaro, and thus presents a “massive” opportunity. The global gold market alone is worth US$24 trillion, and only about US$2B, or 0.008%, of it is tokenized, according to statistics the analyst included in his report. Because the gold tokenization business is still in the early stages, opportunities exist for RWA platforms to gain a significant share. The launch of GLDY gives Streamex a clear entry point and an early mover advantage in this high-growth vertical.

With GLDY, Streamex is well-positioned, with “the operational foundation and credibility required,” to scale into other precious metals, commodities, or similarly standardized assets as institutional adoption gains ground, Todaro pointed out. Fiat currencies, private equity, real estate, royalty rights, and mortgages are all markets that could benefit significantly from tokenization.

Needham sees Streamex expanding into the tokenization of other metal commodities such as silver and palladium in the medium term, noted Todaro, then moving more broadly into assets like debt instruments, royalty payment streams, and sports contracts.

“In this way, we believe the company will start to look more like a diversified financials company,” Todaro wrote.

Significant Operating Leverage

Streamex has the potential for material operating leverage as it scales its platform, wrote Todaro. This is particularly the case because operating expenses should not increase at the same rate as the business expands. Also, Streamex benefits from the initial legal and structural work done for its first fund, which can then be applied to subsequent products, thereby reducing incremental costs.

Needham estimates Streamex will generate total revenue in FY26, FY27, and FY28 of US$20M, US$140M, and US$365M. The firm estimates Streamex will achieve about a 60% net income margin in 2027.

“We also note that we are relatively conservative with our 2028 estimates as the model is in the early days of proving itself,” added Todaro. “If Streamex can increase the number of turns and continue to generate about a 1.25–1.5% yield on gold-originated assets under management (AUM) and the industrial borrow market remains high, then revenue could potentially be much higher than our estimates.”

Revenue Generating Potential

Streamex can generate revenue in three different ways with GLDY, noted Todaro. One is through the yield-based take rate on partnership volume. Streamex expects to collect a 1.25–1.5% annualized fee after paying GLDY holders about 4% annualized yield. As demand for GLDY increases, Streamex’s partnership revenue accelerates.

A second revenue source is tokenization fees, or one-time issuance fees, on partnership volume. As assets are tokenized and distributed in the Streamex network, the company earns a 15 basis points fee on assets tokenized.

A third revenue source is wallet transfer fees. Streamex could accelerate recurring revenue growth by collecting about a 5 basis points fee (per side) every time GLDY is transferred.

Further, Streamex intends to maintain a portion of its own balance sheet in gold, which it will lend out and earn about a 4% yield on, also through its partnership with Monetary Metals.

“This component looks similar to Digital Asset Treasury companies, which hold crypto assets on their balance sheets and earn a yield via staking and lending,” Todaro wrote. “We view Streamex’s gold holdings similarly, except with gold instead of crypto assets, which typically entail more volatility than gold.”

Ways to Go to Market

Major go-to-market opportunities for GLDY are gold exchange-traded products (ETPs) and ETFs, noted Todaro. Streamex continues taking steps to align its product strategy with this ecosystem and designing GLDY to meet the custody, reporting, and liquidity standards typically required by ETF issuers. By doing so, Streamex aims to make GLDY compatible with traditional distribution channels and ultimately garner increased institutional adoption of it.

Also, the asset tokenizing firm is having conversations with several alternative ETF issuers. Pursuant to a September letter of intent signed by Streamex and Simplify Asset Management, an ETF manager with US$10B-plus in AUM, the companies intend to co-develop tokenized ETPs and ETFs solutions for commodities.

Streamex appointed to its board Kevin Gopaul, the chief information officer of REX Financial, a Canadian ETP issuer, in November. Gopaul knows how ETF sponsors evaluate commodity products and what institutions expect from regulated vehicles. Given the Gopaul-Streamex relationship, Streamex and REX might collaborate down the line.

Other pathways for distribution of GLDY and additional future Streamex digitized assets are fintech and crypto platforms such as Coinbase, Etoro, Robinhood, and Kraken. Streamex is in discussions with various prospective partners for distribution.

Key Competitors in Space

Todaro provided a list of Streamex’s Top 4 competitors with tokenized gold offerings, but none are generating a yield. They are:

Tether Gold (XAUT): Launched in 2020 and with about a US$2B-plus market cap, Tether Gold’s XAUT is Streamex’s largest competitor. XAUT is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Holders may redeem XAUT for fiat or physical gold if they meet the minimum threshold.

Pax Gold (PAXG): Pax Gold, with its PAXG token having about a US$1.3B-plus market cap, is another significant Streamex competitor. PAXG is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and fully backed by gold bars stored in vaults. PAXG may be redeemed for physical gold, with one PAXG equaling 1 ounce (1 oz) of gold. Pax Gold does not charge holders custody fees.

Kinesis Gold (KAU): Kinesis Gold’s KAU, with a roughly US$300M-plus market cap, is the third-largest gold-backed token. Kinesis partners with the Allocated Bullion Exchange. KAU holders are not charged custody fees, may redeem their tokens for fiat or gold at any time (with restrictions) and may earn monthly passive income, paid in gold, derived from a share of total transaction fee revenues on the Kinesis platform. KAU’s Kinesis Virtual Card allows holders to instantly spend KAU holdings wherever VISA is accepted.

Matrixdock Gold (XAUM): With a US$60M-plus market cap, Matrixdock Gold’s XAUM is the fourth-largest gold-backed token, backed by gold bars stored in reputable vaults throughout Asia. XAUM is issued on the Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Sui Networks, allowing holders to use it for lending, yield generation, and trading on various exchanges. Each XAUM token equals 1 oz of physical gold. Holders are charged a 0.25% minting and redemption fee.

Diverse Management, Board

Todaro pointed out that Streamex’s co-founders and key backers together have crypto capabilities, gold and metals mining relationships, as well as traditional financial/banking experience. Henry McPhie, the company’s chief executive officer, and Morgan Lekstrom, its chairman, co-founded Streamex in 2023 to address inefficiencies in the commodities markets by bringing commodities on-chain using the RWA tokenization infrastructure.

As for McPhie, he has a long history of successfully building companies within the Decentralized Finance sector, including Lynx Web3 Solutions, a blockchain incubation and software development firm that supported early-stage Web3 projects, and FatCats Capital, a Solana-based nonfungible token project.

Lekstrom’s experience spans 17 years in the mining industry. Now president of NexGold Mining Corp. (NEXG:TSX.V; NXGCF:OTCQX; TRC1:FSE), he also held senior executive roles at Freeport McMoran Inc. (FCX:NYSE) and Rio Tinto Plc (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTNTF:OTCMKTS).

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Important Disclosures:

1. NexGold Mining Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers, contractors, shareholders, and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Streamex Corp., Nexgold Mining Corp., and Rio Tinto Plc.
3. Doresa Banning wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

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Disclosures for Needham & Co., Streamex Corp., November 25, 2025

ANALYST CERTIFICATION I, John Todaro hereby certify that the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject company (ies) and its (their) securities. I, also certify that I, have not been, and will not be receiving direct or indirect compensation in exchange for expressing the specific recommendation(s) in this report. RATINGS DISTRIBUTIONS FOR NEEDHAM & COMPANY, LLC % of companies under coverage with this rating % for which investment banking services have been provided for in the past 12 months Buy 74 18 Hold 26 5 Underperform

( Companies Mentioned: STEX:NASDAQ, )

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