Paxos' gold token rakes in record inflows as crypto investors turn to the yellow metal

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Paxos' gold token rakes in record inflows as crypto investors turn to the yellow metal Tokenized gold has improved the traditional store of value metal's utility, while bitcoin trades like a risk asset amid uncertain times, one expert noted. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher Jan 28, 2026, 7:40 p.m. Make us preferred on Google Gold (Unsplash/Zlataky/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Paxos Gold (PAXG) posted a record inflow of $248 million in January, boosting its market cap to $2.2 billion. The tokenized gold market crossed $5.5B as investors seek stable value amid crypto stagnation. The moves occurred as gold prices surged to new records above $5,300. Crypto investors are piling into tokenized gold as digital asset markets are treading water, sending inflows to Paxos' gold token to a record in January. Paxos Gold (PAXG), backed by physical gold held in LBMA vaults in London, raked in more than $248 million fresh capital through January, DefiLlama data shows. That lifted PAXG's market capitalization over $2.2 billion, trailing only XAUT $ 5,318.82 . STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Paxos Gold inflows (DefiLlama) The wave of inflows coincide with gold enjoying a blistering rally. The precious metal crossed $5,300 per ounce on Wednesday, soaring 22% through January and gaining more than 90% in the past year. Meanwhile, bitcoin BTC $ 89,363.92 has slid over 10% in a year and the broader crypto market sunk This dynamic has shifted some crypto investors' attention toward blockchain-based gold, looking for protection in an uncertain macro environment, said James Harris, CEO of crypto yield platform Tesseract Group. "The growing traction of tokenized gold has improved gold’s utility, particularly around transferability and divisibility," he said, "while bitcoin continues to trade more like a risk asset in periods of macro uncertainty." Tokens like PAXG and XAUT offer fractional ownership of physical gold, with blockchain-based transfers and crypto wallet compatibility. For investors, it’s a way to hold a centuries-old store of value without needing a vault. The total market for tokenized gold has now topped $5.5 billion, according to CoinGecko, marking an all-time high as both inflows and gold prices push the sector to new heights. Gold Tokenized Assets Paxos More For You Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture By CoinDesk Research Dec 30, 2025 Commissioned by Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale. What to know : Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token. The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility. View Full Report More For You Federal Reserve holds policy steady as early rate cut bets vanish and bitcoin stalls By Sam Reynolds , Shaurya Malwa , Omkar Godbole | Edited by Stephen Alpher 1 hour ago The January Fed rate decision capped a sharp reversal in easing expectations, likely among the reasons for crypto's poor price performance. What to know : As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Odds of a January cut, which prediction markets had put above 40 percent in mid-November, had fallen to nearly zero by the time of this week's meeting. Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference begins at 2:30 pm ET. 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