PAX Gold (PAXG) is a digital version of gold operating as an ERC-20 token. It is 100% backed by physical gold reserves. Reserves are held in custody by Paxos Trust Company in secure Brinks vaults in London, UK. One PAXG token is backed by one fine troy ounce (t oz) of a 400 oz London Good Delivery gold bullion bar. The company behind PAXG, Paxos was co-founded in 2012 by Charles Cascarilla, the current CEO, and Rich Teo. It is a for-profit regulated financial technology company that aims to modernize finance by building infrastructure to reduce the barriers in the movement between physical and digital assets. It was the first virtual currency company to receive a charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services. In 2018 it released its first cryptocurrency Paxos Standard (PAX), a digital asset-backed 1:1 against the dollar by a reserve of US dollars stored by Paxos in US bank accounts.

The company launched PAXG in 2019. PAXG provides customers with the economic security of owning gold with the accessibility, speed, and mobility of digital assets. It ultimately seeks to democratize access to gold.

What are PAXG’s key features and how does it work?

Any individual who holds PAXG also has ownership rights to the physical equivalent under the custody of Paxos Trust Company. PAXG holders can choose to be allocated specific real gold held in the vaults and at any time a holder can look up the serial number and physical characteristics of their gold through the Paxos platform. To continually ensure reserves are maintained, an independent auditing firm verifies transactions every month to ensure that the reserve of physical gold accurately matches the supply of PAXG tokens.

PAXG is redeemable against the gold at any time. Users can redeem the physical gold bullion bars if holding more than 430 PAXG tokens. However, users can also redeem smaller amounts of gold through a global network of smaller partner gold retailers via the Paxos platform. Users can also redeem PAXG tokens in exchange for US Dollars.

What is noteworthy about PAXG?

PAXG has several benefits. Notably, it offers token-holders a cheaper alternative to traditional methods of owning gold: holders benefit from their gold being stored in some of the most secure vaults in the world without the costs of storing it. In addition, traditional means of buying gold bars can require investing relatively large sums, making it accessible to a limited number of large corporations or wealthy individuals. Meanwhile, PAXG offers very low investment minimums. PAXG tokens are divisible up to 18 decimal points and the minimum purchasable amount on the Paxos platform is 0.01 PAXG, meaning many can own a fraction of a London Good Delivery gold bar. There are however transaction fees. As an ERC-20 token, PAXG transactions are subject to Ethereum gas fees and, in addition to this, Paxos charges fees for the creation and redemption of the PAXG token, however, these remain low (between 0.02-1%).

By tokenizing gold, investors interested in cryptos are offered the security of buying a digital asset tied to a proven real-world asset whose long-term value is potentially more stable than a lot of cryptocurrencies and unstable fiat tenders, thus providing economic security. It is also highly accessible, providing more individuals with access to a stable asset, significant for individuals in countries with unstable fiat tenders. PAXG also provides easy and fast exchangeability and high privacy levels.

What can PAXG be used for?

PAXG has multiple use cases at present. It can be traded against other cryptocurrencies on cryptocurrency exchanges. It can also be used as a reliable store of value.

Where can you buy PAXG?

Pax Gold is available to buy from the CEXs and DEXs as listed here. Popular options include Binance and Uniswap. Since the price of PAXG’s is pegged to the value of the physical gold it represents its price will vary depending on current gold prices. The price of PAXG will also vary depending on the exchange. For more detailed price information please refer to the price charts above.