PAXG or XAUT instead of physical gold or a gold ETF — what is the difference?
KAU (Kinesis Money) pays no yield (price only), minimum from ~$1 (0.01 g). PAXG (Paxos) pays no yield (price only), minimum fractional. GLDx (Backed / Kraken (xStocks)) pays no yield (price only), minimum ~$1. XAUM (Matrixdock) pays no yield (price only), minimum fractional. XAUT (Tether (TG Commodities)) pays no yield (price only), minimum fractional. VNXAU (VNX (Liechtenstein)) pays no yield (price only), minimum fractional (~1g equivalent), can be bought on a DEX without KYC.
A gold token, a gold ETF and a bar in your safe all follow the gold price. What differs is what you actually own, who holds the metal, when you can trade, what it costs to hold — and how you turn it back into money or metal.
How this list is made: computed from the live TokenBank dataset each time the page is built — 6 matching rows, each linked to its own page and source.
Figures from our live dataset · data as of 2026-10-19 · this answer as JSON · not investment advice
| Token | Issuer | Yield / return | Minimum | KYC to buy | Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAU Kinesis Gold | Kinesis Money | Holders’ yield paid in metal; rate not published publicly | From ~$1 (0.01 g) | Not stated | Ethereum / Kinesis |
| PAXG Pax Gold | Paxos | 0% (store of value) | Fractional | Not stated | Ethereum |
| GLDx Gold ETF (xStocks GLDx) | Backed / Kraken (xStocks) | Price return (gold) | ~$1 | Not stated | Solana (+Ethereum, BNB, Arbitrum, Mantle) |
| XAUM Matrixdock Gold | Matrixdock | 0% (store of value) | Fractional | Not stated | Ethereum / BNB Chain / Sui |
| XAUT Tether Gold | Tether (TG Commodities) | 0% (store of value) | Fractional | Not stated | Ethereum |
| VNXAU VNX Gold | VNX (Liechtenstein) | 0% (store of value) | Fractional (~1g equivalent) | No KYC on a DEX | Ethereum / Polygon / Solana (+) |
Side by side
| KAU | PAXG | GLDx | XAUM | XAUT | VNXAU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where the yield comes from | Share of platform transaction fees ('Holder's Yield'), paid in gold | No yield — gold price performance | Gold (GLD ETF) price performance | Gold price only — no yield | No yield — gold price performance | Gold price only — no yield |
| Risk (our label) | Low-Medium | Low-Medium | Medium (commodity market) | Low-Medium | Low-Medium | Low-Medium |
| Custody | Allocated insured vaults (1 token = 1g gold) | Self-custody | Self-custody possible | Self-custody | Self-custody | Self-custody |
| Liquidity | Medium; Kinesis Exchange + on-chain; redeemable for physical | High; redeemable to USD at the gold price | 24/5 on Kraken; 24/7 on-chain | CEXs + DEXs across chains | High; physical delivery from ~430 XAUT | DEXs + partner exchanges |
| KYC to mint with the issuer | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | Not stated | KYC required | KYC required |
| KYC to buy on a market | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | No KYC |
| KYC to redeem | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Assets under management | $330M | $1.99B | — | ~$73M | $2.63B | Smaller (EU niche) |
| Jurisdiction | Isle of Man (vaulted) | USA (gold vaulted in London) | Jersey / EU service (CySEC) | Singapore | Switzerland (vault) / El Salvador | Liechtenstein |
| How to buy | Open a Kinesis account, KYC, buy KAU on Kinesis Exchange | On exchanges (Kraken, Bitpanda, etc.) or directly from Paxos | Buy on Kraken, withdraw to a Solana wallet | Buy on supported exchanges or DEXs | On exchanges or directly from Tether Gold | Buy at vnx.li after KYC or on a DEX |
More questions
Is PAXG the same as owning gold?
Close, but not the same. Each PAXG is backed by a fine troy ounce of allocated London Good Delivery gold that Paxos holds in vaults; you own a claim on that metal through Paxos, not a bar in your own hands. You can redeem for dollars, or for physical bars in larger amounts.
PAXG or a gold ETF like GLD?
A gold ETF such as GLD is a fund share you hold through a broker and trade during stock-market hours; it charges an annual fee (about 0.4% for GLD). PAXG and XAUT trade around the clock on crypto exchanges and sit in a wallet, with no broker. The ETF fits a brokerage portfolio; the token fits someone who already holds crypto or wants to move gold on a blockchain.
Which is cheaper to hold?
Physical gold costs storage and insurance, plus a dealer spread on buying and selling. A gold ETF charges its annual fee. Gold tokens charge no storage fee to holders, but you pay exchange spreads and network fees when you trade or move them.
Which one has the lowest minimum?
PAXG (Paxos), with minimum fractional. The highest stated minimum here is VNXAU, with minimum fractional (~1g equivalent).
Which of them can I buy without KYC?
1 of 6 can be bought on a DEX without identity verification: VNXAU. For the rest, the source does not state the secondary-market gate.
Which is the largest?
By size, XAUT at $2.6B, followed by PAXG at $2.0B and KAU at $330M. Size is not safety, but a larger product usually means a deeper market to sell into.
How risky are they?
KAU: Low-Medium. PAXG: Low-Medium. GLDx: Medium (commodity market). XAUM: Low-Medium. XAUT: Low-Medium. VNXAU: Low-Medium. The risk label is ours, in plain language, and is explained on each token page.