Glossary · Assets

What is Tokenized gold?

Tokenized gold is a token that represents a claim on allocated physical gold held in a vault, with one token typically tracking one fine troy ounce. The token moves on a blockchain like any asset (sendable, divisible, programmable) while the metal sits still and insured.

The peg to spot price is maintained by arbitrage against redemption: if the token trades under the ounce, buyers who can redeem pull it back to par; over it, and issuers mint new tokens against newly vaulted metal.

How Tokenized gold works

A tokenized gold token represents a claim on allocated bullion: specific bars, serial-numbered, in a vault, with the token as the transferable receipt. Pricing tracks the metal's spot price, and fees differ by issuer: some charge storage deducted through a slowly declining token-to-metal ratio, others fold costs into a spread. Redemption, where offered, delivers metal or cash per the issuer's terms and minimums.

Settlement is ordinary on-chain behavior: the token is a standard asset, transferable by any wallet, priceable in any checkout. What distinguishes it from a gold ETF share is the wrapper: direct bullion claim rather than fund share, and 24/7 transfer rather than market-hours settlement.

Operationally, gold tokens give the metal settlement properties it never had: fractionality to any decimal, transfer in one transaction, and 24/7 movement between wallets. What they cannot change is the metal's own market: spot pricing still follows bullion hours in London and New York, so weekend token prices hold the last fix. For accounting, a gold token position reconciles like a commodity holding, with the token contract as the custodial record.

Tokenized gold in practice

PAXG represents allocated London Good Delivery bars; XAUt tracks a similar structure. A holder can verify serial numbers against the custodian's audit, and on U.CASH can pay with the token or hold it beside crypto in the same wallet.

Tokenized gold on U.CASH

PAXG and XAUt trade on U.CASH as the two liquid gold forms, each asset page carrying its issuer, vault arrangements, and redemption terms. Gold sits in its own peg family on the rankings, separate from fiat stablecoins.

For merchants, tokenized gold behaves as a settlement asset with commodity exposure: fine for treasury diversification, less common at checkout. Its real payments use is regional, where gold is a savings norm and the token gives it wallet-speed transfer. A note on scale: gold's liquidity is deep enough that even large checkout receipts clear without material slippage, which is not true of every commodity token. That depth, plus the metal's universal recognition, makes gold the one commodity exposure that behaves like a settlement asset in practice. Vaults, audits, redemption terms, and the issuer's identity are all checkable facts rather than promises, and each asset page links the source documents so the verification path is short.

Related assets terms

StablecoinTokenized stockPre-IPO token

See also

Gold currency pageStablecoins by peg

Tokenized gold: FAQ

Is tokenized gold the same as a gold ETF?
No: the token settles on-chain around the clock and lives in your own wallet, while an ETF is a brokerage-wrapped share with its own custody and tax treatment. What they share is exposure to the metal's price.
Is the gold audited?
Issuers publish attestations from the custodian, typically monthly, listing bar serials and weights. The audit cadence differs by issuer and is linked from the asset page.
Can I get the physical metal?
Some issuers redeem bars at their minimums, others settle in cash. The process, costs, and thresholds are in each issuer's terms; U.CASH never takes custody either way.
How do gold tokens settle at checkout?
Like any token: the buyer signs, the transfer confirms on-chain, and the position lands in your wallet. The metal never moves; only the claim does, which is what makes gold payments practical at all.
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