XAUT vs PAXG: Tether Gold vs PAX Gold Compared (2026)

XAUT vs PAXG: both tokens represent one fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold. Tether Gold (XAUT) is issued in El Salvador by TG Commodities and vaults its gold in Switzerland. PAX Gold (PAXG) is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a federally chartered US trust company supervised by the OCC, and stores its gold in London.

Tether says its gold token accounted for about 60% of the supply of gold-backed tokens during 2025. As of 21 October 2026, CoinGecko listed XAUT's market capitalisation at about $3.3 billion and PAXG's at about $1.8 billion. The two tokens differ in who stands behind them, which rules apply, what they cost to create and redeem, and which blockchains they run on. This comparison uses each issuer's own terms and reports (accessed 21 Oct 2026).

What are XAUT and PAXG?

Tether Gold (XAUT, written XAU₮ by Tether) and PAX Gold (PAXG) are gold-backed tokens. Each token is meant to correspond to one fine troy ounce of gold on a London Good Delivery bar, the bar standard set by the LBMA, held by a professional custodian. Both tokens can be held in an ordinary crypto wallet, sent on-chain at any hour and split into small fractions. For the general concept, start with our guide to what tokenized gold is and how it works.

The legal claim behind each token is worded differently. Tether Gold's terms say each token "reflects ownership of an undivided specific interest in one fine troy ounce of gold" in its reserves, and that the bar your tokens point to can be reallocated whenever tokens move on-chain. Paxos describes PAXG as backed by gold held on a segregated basis in LBMA-accredited London vaults for PAXG holders. Its lookup tool shows the serial number, weight and vault of the bar linked to a self-custody Ethereum or Solana address.

How do XAUT and PAXG compare?

The table summarises the main differences as of October 2026. Fees and minimums are the issuers' published terms for direct customers. Exchanges and wallets charge their own fees.

Who issues XAUT and PAXG, and who regulates them?

Tether Gold is issued by TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., part of the Tether group. Its terms state that the company redomiciled from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador with effect from 27 January 2025. Tether describes it as a registered stablecoin issuer and digital asset service provider under El Salvador's Digital Asset Issuance Law. Only customers who pass Tether Gold's verification can buy or redeem directly, and verification carries a non-refundable 150 USDT fee.

PAX Gold is issued by Paxos Trust Company, N.A. On 12 December 2025, Paxos converted its New York limited-purpose trust charter into a national trust charter supervised by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Its PAXG terms say Paxos issues the token under specific approval from the OCC. Only verified Paxos customers can buy or redeem directly, and Paxos states that PAXG is currently unavailable in the EU.

Regulatory status tells you which authority supervises the issuer and which laws are likely to apply if something goes wrong. It does not remove the risk of loss, and neither token is a bank deposit.

How are the XAUT and PAXG gold reserves verified?

Tether Gold publishes a quarterly independent assurance opinion under the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standard. For 30 June 2026, it reported 707,747.139 fine troy ounces of gold (about 22.01 tonnes) backing XAUT, all vaulted in Switzerland, with a total market value of about US$2.84 billion. Tether published those figures on 3 August 2026. Holders can enter a wallet address on the Tether Gold site to see the bars allocated to it.

Paxos publishes PAXG attestation reports every month. Reports posted on or after 28 February 2025 are issued by KPMG LLP under AICPA attestation standards, and the latest month listed on 21 October 2026 was August 2026. On the same day, the PAXG contract on Ethereum showed a total supply of about 438,674 tokens (Etherscan). Paxos's bar lookup works only for PAXG in your own Ethereum or Solana wallet, not for tokens held on an exchange.

Attestations confirm that reserves matched tokens at a point in time. They are not audits of the issuer's full financial statements, and they cannot show what happens between reporting dates. Our explainer on what proof of reserves can and cannot prove covers this in more depth.

Can you redeem XAUT or PAXG for physical gold?

Yes, but only through the issuer and only in whole-bar sizes. Good Delivery bars vary in weight, typically around 400 troy ounces, and both issuers work in units of 430 tokens. That was about $1.8 million at the token prices of 21 October 2026.

• XAUT: Verified Tether Gold customers redeem in increments of 430 tokens; if the delivered bar is smaller, fewer tokens are redeemed, to three decimal places. The fee is 0.25% plus delivery costs. Holders can take delivery at a location of their choosing in Switzerland or ask Tether Gold to arrange a sale through a licensed gold broker in the Swiss market. Tether Gold warns that a redemption can take several business days.
• PAXG: Paxos requires at least 430 PAXG plus a fee per Good Delivery bar and credits back any tokens above the actual bar weight. Paxos customers can also redeem PAXG for US dollars at the current gold price. Since 1 September 2026, a 0.05% fee applies to converting PAXG into allocated or unallocated gold.

If you bought either token on an exchange, you are a secondary-market holder. To redeem directly, you must first open and verify an account with the issuer.

What are the risks of XAUT and PAXG?

Issuer and custodian risk

A gold token is only as good as its issuer's promise and its vault's custody. Tether Gold's risk disclosure says that if its bar-allocation software failed and you could not redeem, you could be treated as an unsecured creditor of the custodian without a right to a specific bar. PAXG holders rely on Paxos and its London vault providers in the same way. Holding a single token concentrates that exposure in one issuer.

Control and freezing risk

Tokenized gold is controlled at the issuer level. Tether Gold's terms allow it to freeze tokens, blacklist addresses and suspend services where the law requires or at its discretion, and Tether Gold holds administrative keys for its token contracts. Paxos limits direct purchases and redemptions to verified customers and applies jurisdiction restrictions, including the current EU unavailability.

Price and liquidity risk

On secondary markets, a gold token can trade at, above or below the price of an ounce of gold. Tether Gold's risk statement says this explicitly, and thin order books widen the gap. Gold itself is volatile, and the token follows the metal down as well as up.

Blockchain and bridge risk

Smart-contract bugs, network outages and cross-chain bridges add risk on top of the gold. Check that the contract address you use is the one the issuer publishes.

Which is better, XAUT or PAXG?

Neither is better for everyone. The right choice depends on what you want to control for:

• Regulatory home: PAXG's issuer is supervised by a US federal banking regulator; XAUT's issuer is registered in El Salvador.
• Vault location: XAUT gold sits in Switzerland; PAXG gold sits in London.
• Size and fees: For direct purchases, PAXG's creation fee is waived until 1 January 2027 and its minimum is 0.03 PAXG, while XAUT charges 0.25% with a 50-token minimum. Most retail buyers use exchanges instead, where spreads and trading fees matter more.
• Chain: Use the token that exists on the network you use. XAUT is issued on Ethereum and, since 26 March 2026, on BNB Chain; Paxos lists Ethereum and Solana for PAXG.

To weigh either token against owning bullion directly, see tokenized gold vs physical gold.

Why do Wealtii funds hold XAUT?

Two Wealtii funds hold Tether Gold. XAUT is an 11.8% target allocation in the Wealtii Tech & Digital Asset Growth Fund and 19.1% in the Wealtii Multi-Asset Balanced Allocation Fund. These are fixed target weights set by Wealtii's allocation methodology with position caps, not market-cap weights. The funds run on BNB Smart Chain, where XAUT exists as a BEP-20 token. Holding XAUT is a fund-level portfolio decision, not a recommendation that XAUT suits you better than PAXG. Fund investors carry XAUT's issuer and custody risks, and Wealtii does not offer physical gold redemption: selling a fund position settles in USDT.

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