Gold has been one of the most reliable stores of value in human history. The problem? Buying and storing physical gold is a hassle. You need a broker, a vault, insurance, and usually a minimum investment that puts it out of reach for most people.
PAXG changes that. It's a digital token where one coin equals one troy ounce of real, physical gold sitting in a vault in London. You can buy a fraction of a PAXG for a few dollars, send it to anyone in the world instantly, and sell it any time, without ever touching a bar.
PAXG at a glance: 2026
How does it actually work?
When you buy PAXG, Paxos allocates a specific portion of a real gold bar to you. That bar sits in a secure vault in London, operated by Brink's, the same company that transports cash for central banks. Your token is tied to actual, numbered bars, not a vague promise.
Every month, the accounting firm KPMG counts the gold and publishes a public report confirming the number of PAXG tokens matches the ounces in the vault. You can read these reports yourself, any time, for free.
Real gold bars in a London vault, backing every PAXG token in circulation.
Why use this instead of just buying gold?
Physical gold is great in theory. In practice, it's awkward:
- You need somewhere to store it securely
- Buying or selling requires a broker and takes days
- You can't send a fraction of a bar to someone
- Storage and insurance cost money every year
PAXG solves all of those. You can buy as little as $10 worth, send it to any crypto wallet in minutes, and sell it any time. No broker, no fees, 24/7.
A gold ETF like GLD holds gold on your behalf through a fund structure. PAXG is different: your tokens are tied to specifically allocated bars, not a pooled fund. If something went wrong with Paxos, your gold can't be seized by their creditors; it's legally yours. That's a stronger protection than most traditional gold products offer.
Who is Paxos, and can I trust them?
Paxos is one of the most regulated companies in crypto. They hold a federal banking charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the same regulator that oversees national banks. They also issue PayPal's stablecoin (PYUSD) and have operated without incident since 2018.
That charter matters because if Paxos ever went bankrupt, the gold backing PAXG is legally separated from their corporate assets. It can't be seized by creditors. You'd get your gold back.
Allocated gold: your tokens correspond to specific, numbered bars, not a share of a pool.
Is there anything to watch out for?
One thing worth knowing: Paxos controls the smart contract that runs PAXG on Ethereum, which means they technically have the ability to freeze a wallet. In practice, this power is used only for regulatory compliance, much like a bank account can be frozen by court order. Paxos has never exercised it arbitrarily in six years of operation, but it is a real power that exists.
Paxos can freeze PAXG wallets for compliance reasons. This isn't unique to PAXG; banks do the same. But it does mean you're trusting Paxos to act appropriately. Their six-year track record and federal oversight make that a reasonable bet, but this isn't a fully trustless asset.
How do I buy or sell?
You can buy PAXG on Realmint, on major crypto exchanges (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance), or on decentralised exchanges like Uniswap. Paxos charges no fees to buy, hold, or sell; your only cost is the exchange spread and any network gas fee. If you want to cash out directly through Paxos, you can exchange PAXG for USD at the current gold spot price, settling in a few business days.
PAXG scores 90/100 on the Realmint Score, one of the highest-rated tokenized commodities on the platform. View the full due diligence, live price, and trade directly.
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