A 2026 buyer's guide to gold- and silver-backed token providers, custody models, and how to evaluate an infrastructure partner.
Gold and silver had one of their most volatile years on record in 2026. Prices surged to all-time highs early in the year before sharp corrections tested every part of the precious metals market — including its newest corner: tokenized bullion. Through the volatility, tokenized gold and silver held their core value proposition intact: instant settlement, fractional ownership, and 24/7 tradability backed by physical metal sitting in a vault.
That growth has put a spotlight on the infrastructure behind these tokens. Whether you're an issuer looking to launch a gold-backed product or an investor trying to understand who actually stands behind a given token, the question keeps coming back to the same place: which asset tokenization company is doing the work of custody, compliance, and token issuance underneath the ticker symbol?
This guide breaks down how the tokenized gold and silver market is structured in 2026, who the major providers are, and what to evaluate in an asset tokenization company before trusting them with a precious metals product.
The State of Tokenized Gold and Silver in 2026
Tokenized gold has moved from a niche crypto product to a genuinely large asset class. Industry estimates put total tokenized gold volumes at roughly $178 billion in 2025, an increase of more than 200% year-over-year, with the tokenized gold market's outstanding value surpassing several billion dollars by early 2026. Two issuers dominate the space by a wide margin: Pax Gold (PAXG), issued by Paxos Trust Company, and Tether Gold (XAUT), issued by Tether. Together they account for roughly 95–97% of the tokenized gold market by market capitalization.
Silver's tokenized market is considerably smaller and less consolidated. Kinesis Silver (KAG) is the most recognized name, alongside gram-based fractional tokens from smaller issuers. Because on-chain silver liquidity remains thin compared to gold, spreads and redemption terms vary more widely between providers — which makes vetting the underlying asset tokenization company even more important for silver than for gold.
Both metals had a dramatic run in early 2026, with gold trading above $5,600 per ounce and silver briefly surpassing $120 per ounce before a sharp correction. That volatility is a reminder that tokenized metals track the spot price of the underlying commodity — the token doesn't add price stability, it adds settlement speed, fractional access, and blockchain-based transferability on top of a fluctuating asset.
Top Providers Behind Tokenized Gold and Silver
Rather than ranking these as a single "best of" list, it's more useful to understand what each provider optimizes for, since the right fit depends on whether you're an investor buying exposure or an issuer building a new product.
Paxos Trust Company — PAXG
Paxos issues Pax Gold, where each token represents one fine troy ounce of physical gold held in professional vault storage, most commonly cited as LBMA-certified facilities in London. PAXG is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which appeals to institutions and compliance-focused investors who want regulatory clarity over raw liquidity. Redemption for physical delivery generally requires a substantial minimum token balance, positioning PAXG more as a digital ownership and trading instrument than a retail bullion-delivery product for small holders.
Tether — XAUT
Tether Gold is the largest tokenized gold product by market capitalization, built on Tether's existing scale and exchange integrations. Each XAUT token also represents one troy ounce of allocated gold, with custody based in Switzerland. XAUT tends to have deeper trading liquidity than PAXG on most exchanges, making it the more commonly used instrument for active trading rather than long-term custody-focused holding, though both serve overlapping use cases.
Kinesis Money — KAU and KAG
Kinesis takes a structurally different approach. Instead of one troy ounce per token, KAU (gold) and KAG (silver) represent one gram of allocated metal, making the entry point far more granular. Kinesis also runs a yield-sharing model, distributing a portion of network transaction fees back to token holders — a feature neither PAXG nor XAUT offers. This makes Kinesis tokens function less like a pure custody wrapper and more like a broader monetary ecosystem, complete with a linked payment card. The tradeoff is thinner external exchange liquidity compared to the two market leaders.
Matrixdock — XAUM
Backed by Matrixport, Matrixdock Gold differentiates itself through multi-chain availability across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Sui, aiming at cross-jurisdictional demand in Asia. Custody is based in Singapore with real-time proof-of-reserve reporting cited by the issuer. It's a newer entrant with a smaller market cap than PAXG or XAUT, but multi-chain support is a genuine differentiator for teams building on non-Ethereum infrastructure.
Smaller and Regional Providers
A longer tail of providers serves specific regional or structural niches: VNX Gold (VNXAU) targets European-regulated exposure, Comtech Gold (CGO) offers a Shariah-compliant structure aimed at Middle East and South Asian buyers, and CACHE Gold (CGT) uses a fractional-gram model with on-chain bar serial number assignment. These products generally carry thinner liquidity than the market leaders, so checking on-chain trading depth before committing meaningfully matters more here than with PAXG or XAUT.
What an Asset Tokenization Company Actually Does for Precious Metals
Behind every gold or silver token sits an asset tokenization company managing several layers of infrastructure that rarely get discussed in market-cap rankings:
Physical custody coordination — arranging vault storage with LBMA-certified or equivalent facilities and managing bar allocation records
Proof-of-reserve auditing — commissioning independent audits, typically monthly or quarterly, confirming token supply matches physical holdings
Smart contract issuance and redemption logic — minting tokens 1:1 against verified reserves and burning tokens on physical redemption
Compliance infrastructure — KYC/AML checks for redemption eligibility and, depending on jurisdiction, securities-adjacent reporting obligations
Multi-chain or single-chain deployment — deciding which blockchain networks the token lives on, and how it moves between them This is the layer that matters most for anyone evaluating a new gold or silver tokenization project — not the marketing page, but the actual custody chain and audit cadence standing behind the token.
Emerging Standards: The 2026 "Gold as a Service" Push
One notable development in 2026 was a joint proposal from the World Gold Council and Boston Consulting Group for a "Gold as a Service" framework, aimed at standardizing custody, reconciliation, compliance, and redemption processes across digital gold products. This reflects a broader industry recognition that tokenized gold's credibility depends on consistent operational standards across issuers, not just individual providers marketing their own audit practices.
For businesses evaluating an asset tokenization company to build a new precious metals product, this emerging standardization is worth tracking closely — providers who align early with frameworks like this are more likely to offer institutional-grade credibility as the market matures and regulatory scrutiny increases.
How to Evaluate a Provider Before Trusting Them With Gold or Silver Exposure
Whether you're choosing where to hold tokenized metal or picking a development partner to launch a new product, the same core questions apply.
What is the redemption minimum, and how quickly can physical metal actually be delivered?
How often are proof-of-reserve audits conducted, and by which independent auditor?
Where is the physical metal custodied, and under what regulatory jurisdiction?
Is the token backed at a 1:1 ratio with allocated (not pooled or fractional-claim) metal?
What blockchain network(s) does the token live on, and what does that mean for transaction costs and liquidity?
Does the issuer publish real-time or near-real-time reserve data, or only periodic PDF reports?
Building a New Tokenized Gold or Silver Product
For businesses looking to launch their own gold- or silver-backed token rather than simply investing in an existing one, the calculus shifts toward choosing the right development partner. An asset tokenization company building a precious metals product needs to combine several capabilities that a generic blockchain development shop typically doesn't have in-house: vault and custody relationships, commodities-specific compliance experience, and smart contract architecture that correctly encodes redemption and audit logic — not just a generic ERC-20 template with a gold logo attached.
Red flags at this stage look similar to other RWA tokenization categories: vendors who can't name their custody partner, who are vague about audit frequency, or who describe "backing" without clarifying whether it's allocated (your specific bars) or unallocated (a pooled claim). In precious metals specifically, the distinction between allocated and unallocated backing has real legal and practical consequences during a redemption event or issuer insolvency scenario.
RECOMMENDED DEVELOPMENT PARTNER
Shamla Tech
Unlike the token issuers profiled above, Shamla Tech isn't a gold or silver custodian — it's a development partner for businesses who want to build their own precious-metals tokenization product from the ground up. Its real-world asset tokenization development services cover smart contract architecture, compliance workflow design, and platform infrastructure for issuers who need to connect vault custody, audit reporting, and redemption logic into a single working system rather than assembling it from scratch.
For a team evaluating build-vs-partner options for a new gold or silver token, it's worth including alongside other development shops when comparing custody relationships, compliance experience, and prior tokenization projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tokenized gold the same as owning physical gold?
Not exactly. A tokenized gold product represents a claim on physical gold held by the issuer's custodian, verified through periodic proof-of-reserve audits. You own the token and the rights it confers — typically the ability to redeem for physical metal above a minimum threshold — rather than a specific bar sitting in your name, unless the provider uses an allocated, serial-numbered model.
What's the difference between allocated and unallocated gold backing?
Allocated backing means your tokens correspond to specific, identifiable bars held on your behalf. Unallocated backing means the issuer holds a pooled reserve and token holders have a claim against that pool rather than specific bars. Allocated structures generally offer stronger legal protection in a custodian insolvency scenario, so it's worth confirming which model a provider uses before investing meaningfully.
Can I redeem tokenized gold or silver for physical metal?
Most major providers allow physical redemption, but usually above a minimum token balance — for PAXG, redemption for physical bars has historically required several hundred tokens, which puts it out of reach for smaller retail holders. Investors below that threshold typically sell the token on an exchange instead of redeeming for metal directly.
Why do PAXG and XAUT dominate the tokenized gold market?
Scale, liquidity, and regulatory clarity. Both have operated for years with consistent audit practices, deep exchange integrations, and — in PAXG's case — direct oversight from the New York State Department of Financial Services. That combination gives institutional and retail investors more confidence than newer or thinner-volume alternatives, even when those alternatives offer features like yield-sharing or multi-chain access.
What should a business look for in an asset tokenization company for a metals product?
Beyond smart contract capability, look for demonstrated custody relationships with LBMA-certified or equivalent vaults, a clear and independently verified audit cadence, and compliance infrastructure built specifically for commodity-backed assets rather than a generic crypto template. An experienced asset tokenization company should be able to explain its redemption logic and reserve verification process in specific, concrete terms — not just marketing language about being "fully backed."
Final Takeaway
Tokenized gold and silver have proven their staying power through a genuinely volatile 2026 — surviving sharp price swings while continuing to attract institutional and retail interest as a faster, more fractional way to hold precious metals exposure. PAXG and XAUT remain the dominant, most liquid options for most investors, while Kinesis, Matrixdock, and a longer tail of regional providers serve more specific use cases around yield, multi-chain access, or jurisdictional compliance.
For businesses building in this space, the providers that will lead the next phase of growth are the ones treating custody, audit transparency, and compliance as core infrastructure — not an afterthought bolted onto a token contract. Choosing the right asset tokenization company to build or manage that infrastructure is, in the end, the decision that determines whether a gold or silver token is a credible financial instrument or just a speculative wrapper.
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