Digital currency issuer Tether has proposed a new unit of account for gold aimed at making the metal easier to use in daily transactions.

The stablecoin issuer introduced the term Scudo on Tuesday. One Scudo represents one-thousandth of a troy ounce of gold.

The company said the denomination could simplify pricing and payments using gold. Tether already issues a gold-backed token called XAUT.

Under the definition, one Scudo equals one-thousandth of XAUT. The token has a market value of about $2.3 billion, according to CoinGecko. Its market capitalization has nearly quadrupled over the past year.

In a blog post, Tether cited rising inflation concerns and central bank buying as drivers of renewed interest in gold. It described those trends as support for gold’s role as a medium of exchange.

Tether said most of its products remain tied to the U.S. dollar. It added that gold cannot be diluted by government money creation. The firm said its wallet developer kit allows XAUT transactions across many devices.

The company compared Scudo to the satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. One satoshi equals one hundred-millionth of a Bitcoin. Tether said a Scudo would be worth about $4.48 at current prices.

Scudo was also the name of several Italian coins used centuries ago. The term comes from a Latin word meaning shield.

Tether is led by CEO Paolo Ardoino and CFO Giancarlo Devasini, both born in Italy. The firm last year acquired a minority stake in Juventus.

The company said its gold backing XAUT is held in secure vaults. Token holders can redeem for physical gold delivered within Switzerland.

According to Tether, XAUT is backed by 1,329 gold bars, or 16.2 metric tons. An attestation by BDO Italia was released last April.

Tether also offers Alloy, which allows users to pledge XAUT to receive aUSDT tokens.

Rival issuer Paxos offers PAXG, a gold-redeemable token with a $1.7 billion market value. Paxos also issues PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin and received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national banking charter.

Tether said it held 116 tonnes of gold as of the end of the third quarter, valued near $17 billion.