PAX Gold Market History

What is PAX Gold?

PAX Gold is an Ethereum token designed to represent allocated physical gold. Each PAXG token corresponds to one fine troy ounce of gold associated with a specified London Good Delivery bar held through custody arrangements. The token uses the ERC-20 standard, allowing compatible wallets and applications to transfer it on Ethereum. Fractional token units make it possible to hold or move an amount smaller than a full ounce. PAXG therefore combines blockchain settlement with a claim structured around identified physical bullion, although users still face smart-contract, custody, redemption, compliance, and network-fee considerations that do not apply in exactly the same way to holding a bar directly.

PAXG is intended to track the economic value of its underlying quantity of gold, but its exchange quote can deviate because of liquidity, venue conditions, transaction costs, or redemption frictions. It is not a proof-of-work currency and does not have a mining schedule. Supply can expand when tokens are issued against eligible gold and contract when tokens are redeemed or removed from circulation. The token’s historical price record shows secondary-market outcomes rather than independently proving the location, condition, or legal status of any bullion associated with the system.

How does PAX Gold work?

Issuance connects an ERC-20 balance with allocated gold. When eligible customers complete the required purchase process, corresponding token units can be created and assigned, while redemption can exchange qualifying amounts for value or physical products under applicable terms, thresholds, and charges. The gold-bar allocation connected to a token holder may change when transfers or fractional balances are reconciled, so ownership is represented through the token system rather than by engraving a permanent wallet address onto one bar. Ethereum records token transfers, while off-chain custody records connect circulating units to specific bullion.

Because PAXG is an ERC-20 token, transfers require Ethereum gas and valid signatures. Smart contracts track balances and allowances, enabling integration with exchanges, lending applications, and other compatible services. Contract controls and regulated-asset requirements can differ from those of censorship-resistant native coins, so users should understand the applicable issuer terms. The gold reference does not eliminate trading risk or ensure identical quotes across venues. External derivatives indicators, including PAXG funding rates and liquidation history, describe leveraged positions rather than token issuance or bullion allocation.

Origins and history

PAX Gold launched in 2019 as a tokenized-gold product on Ethereum. Its structure applied the portability and divisibility of an ERC-20 asset to allocated bullion meeting established wholesale-market specifications. This approach differed from synthetic gold exposure because the token was designed around identifiable physical bars rather than solely a cash-settled price formula. Early adoption centered on exchanges, wallets, and blockchain applications capable of handling ERC-20 tokens, while direct issuance and redemption remained subject to identity checks and product terms.

As Ethereum infrastructure developed, PAXG became usable across more types of on-chain applications, creating new ways to transfer or use tokenized gold as collateral. Those integrations introduce contract and liquidity risks beyond the underlying bullion arrangement. Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake in 2022 changed how the host network reaches consensus but did not change PAXG into a staking asset or alter the quantity of gold represented by one whole token under its design. Historical exchange extremes are summarized in the PAXG peak-price archive, while the PAXG purchase-history tool provides retrospective calculations without assessing redemption costs.

PAX Gold's market record at a glance

PAX Gold has traded for 2,150 days since 2020-08-26. Its all-time high of $5,650.86 came on 2026-01-29, its all-time low of $1,606.00 on 2022-09-26, and its deepest peak-to-trough decline measured -27.8%. The record includes 0 major drawdown episodes, each documented in PAX Gold's drawdown history, with the complete year-by-year record in PAX Gold's price history.