What is PAX Gold? It is a regulated tokenized-gold asset issued by Paxos, with each PAXG token designed to represent one fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold held in professional vaults in London. The token combines physical-gold ownership with blockchain transferability, fractional access and 24-hour settlement.
What is PAX Gold and how does PAXG work?
PAXG launched on 5 September 2019 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. Its primary contract is 0x45804880de22913dafe09f4980848ece6ecbaf78. Ethereum records ownership and transfers, while Paxos manages the off-chain gold reserves, token issuance, redemption and custody.
The underlying bullion consists of allocated London Good Delivery gold. Paxos records details such as bar serial numbers, weight and purity, and qualifying holders can use its allocation lookup tool to connect their holdings with the underlying gold. PAXG is divisible to 18 decimal places, allowing exposure to a fraction of a fine troy ounce rather than requiring ownership of a complete institutional bar.
Paxos can mint tokens when eligible gold is allocated to the product and destroy them when holders redeem or convert their holdings. Physical redemption for an LBMA-accredited Good Delivery bar requires a minimum of 430 PAXG. Holders can also convert through Paxos into unallocated London gold or U.S. dollars, subject to the applicable requirements and fees.
Primary uses and real-world applications
PAXG gives users digital exposure to physical gold without arranging personal storage, insurance, transportation or testing of bullion. It can be held through a compatible wallet, exchange or custodian and transferred on-chain outside traditional market hours.
The token is also used for portfolio diversification, trading, cross-border settlement and, where supported, decentralized-finance collateral. Its ERC-20 format allows integration with wallets, exchanges, lending platforms and other blockchain applications. Holding PAXG does not automatically generate staking income or interest.
CoinStats recorded a price of $4,168.12 and a 24h change of -0.56% in its snapshot captured on 1 October 2026 at 01:10 UTC. Market cap was $1.81B (rank #70), 24h volume was $100.78M, and the all-time high was $5,619.09, the current price is 25.82% below it.
Who is behind PAX Gold and where is it based?
PAXG is issued by Paxos Trust Company, N.A., a U.S. trust company based in New York. Paxos was founded in 2012, and Charles Cascarilla is identified as its co-founder and chief executive officer. The project is associated with Paxos rather than an anonymous developer group or a separate foundation.
Paxos received a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2015. NYDFS approved PAXG in 2019 before its launch. Paxos’s materials also identify federal oversight by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company announced a move toward a national trust structure after conditional OCC approval in December 2025.
The physical gold is held in segregated custody for the benefit of holders, with Brink’s identified as the vaulting and security partner. Paxos publishes monthly reserve attestations. Reports issued from 28 February 2025 onward were prepared by KPMG LLP under AICPA attestation standards, while earlier reports were associated with WithumSmith+Brown.
Tokenomics and supply mechanics
PAXG has no fixed maximum supply and is not distributed through mining, staking rewards or block subsidies. Its supply is linked to the quantity of qualifying gold allocated to the product.
New tokens are created when additional gold enters the custody framework. Tokens are destroyed when the corresponding gold is redeemed or removed from circulation. This makes the supply elastic in response to gold deposits and redemptions rather than conventionally inflationary or deflationary.
The CoinStats snapshot reported:
- Circulating supply: 435,071 PAXG
- Total supply: 435,071 PAXG
The equal figures indicate that CoinStats reported all issued tokens as circulating at the snapshot time. The supply does not itself determine the token’s value, which is also affected by gold prices, exchange liquidity, redemption conditions and market demand.
Consensus mechanism and network security
PAXG does not operate an independent blockchain and has no separate mining or validator network. The original ERC-20 version relies on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus to secure balances, transfers and smart-contract execution.
The asset therefore has two security layers. Ethereum or another supported network secures the digital ledger, while Paxos controls issuance, redemption, custody and compliance for the physical gold. Blockchain consensus cannot independently verify that bullion exists, so holders also depend on Paxos’s legal structure, custodians, vault operators and reserve attestations.
Paxos expanded PAXG to Solana in 2026. Existing Ethereum holders can bridge tokens to Solana, adding a second settlement environment while Paxos retains control of backing and issuance.
Partnerships and ecosystem integrations
The main physical infrastructure partnership is Brink’s, which provides vaulting and security services for the London-held gold. KPMG provides the current independent attestation process, and Paxos has announced Chainlink oracle integration to support the use of Paxos assets in decentralized finance.
The token’s Ethereum compatibility supports exchange listings, custody systems, wallets, lending platforms and decentralized applications. Paxos also announced the Solana expansion with Sunrise DeFi, targeting Solana decentralized exchanges, wallets and aggregators. Availability varies by country, platform and regulatory restrictions.
Competitive advantages and development direction
PAXG’s main differentiators are allocated physical backing, a regulated U.S. trust-company issuer, monthly reserve attestations and bar-level allocation lookup. It offers fractional ownership and blockchain portability while remaining linked to investment-grade bullion. Its principal limitations are dependence on Paxos, a 430 PAXG minimum for physical-bar redemption, network and bridge risks, and the absence of native yield.
Current development focuses on multichain access, institutional custody, DeFi integration and continued reserve transparency rather than a new consensus system. The confirmed roadmap includes the 2026 Solana expansion, ongoing monthly attestations, broader distribution through exchanges and custodians, and infrastructure initiatives designed to support regulated on-chain assets.