PAXG or XAUT — which gold token is the better way to hold gold on the blockchain?
KAU (Kinesis Money) yields ~3.05% (paid in gold), 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.
Each gold token is backed by physical gold in a vault. They differ in issuer and regulator, in the smallest amount you can buy, in whether you can redeem for metal, and — for Kinesis — in paying a small yield.
Figures from our live dataset · page generated 2026-10-11 · not investment advice
| Token | Issuer | Yield / return | Minimum | KYC to buy | Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAU Kinesis Gold | Kinesis Money | ~3.05% (paid in gold) | 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 |
How to choose
All of them follow the gold price, so the choice is about the wrapper: the issuer and its regulator, which vault holds the metal and how it is audited, the smallest unit you can buy, and whether you can take delivery of physical gold. PAXG is issued by Paxos, a New York-regulated trust company; XAUT by Tether’s gold company. KAU is the one that pays a yield, funded from Kinesis’ transaction fees rather than from the gold. GLDx tracks the price of the GLD exchange-traded fund instead of holding allocated metal.
More questions
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.
Where does the yield come from?
KAU: Share of platform transaction fees ('Holder's Yield'), paid in gold. PAXG: No yield — gold price performance. GLDx: Gold (GLD ETF) price performance. XAUM: Gold price only — no yield. XAUT: No yield — gold price performance. VNXAU: Gold price only — no yield.
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.
Are these yields fixed?
1 of 6 are variable: the rate moves with markets and is not guaranteed.