Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
PAX Gold (PAXG): A Token Backed by One Ounce of London-Vaulted Gold
Issued by Paxos since 2019: how it links to physical gold
PAX Gold (PAXG) is a gold-backed token: each one represents ownership of one fine troy ounce (about 31.1 grams) of gold in London vaults. It lets people hold small pieces of gold and move them on a blockchain instead of storing bars themselves.
1. Who issues it
PAXG is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a trust company supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and launched on Ethereum in September 2019. Paxos, founded in 2012 by Charles Cascarilla and others, also issues dollar stablecoins such as PayPal’s PYUSD and USDG.
Each token is tied to London Good Delivery bars, the standard of the international gold market, held in vaults accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). Holders can look up the serial number and weight of the bar behind their tokens on Paxos’s website. On the Crypto Nation map, PAXG stands in Ethereum City (the capital), where it was first issued.
2. How it links to gold
Verified customers pay Paxos in dollars, Paxos allocates the matching gold and mints PAXG; when customers return PAXG, Paxos pays out cash or delivers gold and destroys the tokens. Taking physical bars comes with minimum sizes and extra costs. Each token divides to 18 decimal places, so tiny amounts of gold can change hands.
Paxos publishes monthly attestations by an outside accounting firm confirming that the tokens issued match the gold held, and it says it charges no custody fee. PAXG’s price follows the international gold price, so unlike a dollar stablecoin it rises and falls with gold.
3. Where it is used
Individuals and institutions use PAXG to keep gold in the same wallet as their digital assets; it trades around the clock on exchanges and serves as collateral in decentralised finance (DeFi). Because gold is seen as a traditional safe haven, some users move into PAXG during market stress without leaving the blockchain.
Its closest rival is Tether Gold (XAUT), and together the two have led the market for gold-backed tokens. A strong rise in gold prices from 2025 increased interest in such tokens.
4. Things to know
PAXG is only as good as the gold in the vault and Paxos’s promise to redeem. Paxos is regulated but has a record with regulators: in February 2023 the NYDFS ordered it to stop minting BUSD, the stablecoin it issued with Binance, and in 2025 it settled with the same regulator over due-diligence failures linked to Binance.
The token contract lets Paxos freeze addresses, and taking delivery of physical gold requires identity checks and fees. Gold itself can swing with interest rates, the dollar and the world economy, so stable backing does not mean a stable price.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.