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Hold PAXG. You earn nothing in the position. Hold AYNI and stake it. You earn quarterly staking rewards in gold, paid in PAXG itself.
Both tokens put gold on a blockchain. Only one of them generates DeFi gold yield. That difference is structural, not marketing, and it determines which product fits which user.
Ayni Gold is a DeFi protocol built on a Peruvian gold mine. PAXG, issued by Paxos, is a token backed one-to-one by physical gold sitting in a vault. PAXG tracks gold's price. Ayni Gold tracks gold's production.
Demand for on-chain gold has climbed sharply in 2026. Bitget's TradFi desk crossed $6 billion in daily volume with gold as the top-traded pair. Both products benefit from that current. They serve different users.
What Each Token Actually Represents
The two tokens look similar from the outside but reference different underlying objects: one points to metal already in storage, the other to metal still being extracted.
Pax Gold (PAXG): Token Backed by Vaulted Gold
Each PAXG token corresponds to one troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold held by Paxos Trust Company in Brink's facilities. Holders can redeem PAXG for physical gold or for cash through Paxos directly.
PAXG launched in 2019 and has grown into the largest gold-backed cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Vault attestations are published monthly by WithumSmith+Brown, an independent accounting firm. The price tracks the spot gold price closely, with small premiums or discounts based on liquidity.
As a gold as a yield-generating asset, PAXG itself does no work. It sits on the chain. Any returns on the position come from the gold market or from external strategies a holder layers on top, such as lending, liquidity provision, or external staking platforms.
Ayni Gold (AYNI): Stake in Gold Production
Ayni Gold reverses the model. The AYNI tokenomics documentation explains that one AYNI token represents 4 cm³ per hour of mining capacity at the Minerales San Hilario concession, an 8 km² alluvial site in the Madre de Dios region of Peru.
Total supply is fixed at 806,451,613 tokens. Minerales SH San Hilario S.C.R.L., the company operating the mine, holds concession No. 070011405 with INGEMMET, the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Peru.
The token is not redeemable for gold. It is a position in a productive asset, more like a mining royalty than a vault receipt.
Users who stake AYNI receive income in PAXG proportional to mining production, net of costs and a success fee.
The protocol burns 15% of accumulated success fees every quarter, shrinking the circulating supply over time. This makes AYNI a gold-backed crypto yield position with cash flow built in.
How the PAXG reward is calculated
The reward calculation is published in plain form:
PAXG reward = (AYNI_staked × Mining_output × Time_factor) − Costs − Success_Fee
Every input in that formula maps to a real number. The amount of AYNI staked is on-chain. Mining output, costs, and success fees are reported by the operator.
There is no proprietary model layered on top, which makes the yield mechanics auditable in a way most DeFi protocols are not.
On the smart contract side, the AYNI ERC-20 contract has been audited by CertiK (October 2025) and separately by PeckShield. Both reports live on the protocol's trust and audits page.
Side by Side: The Six Dimensions That Matter
The structural differences become clearest when laid out on the dimensions a buyer actually evaluates.
PAXG
Ayni Gold
What the token represents
One troy ounce of physical gold held in a Paxos vault
4 cm³/hour of mining capacity at the Minerales San Hilario concession in Peru
Source of returns
Gold price movement only
Income in PAXG is proportional to real gold mining output, plus gold price exposure on the reward asset
Native yield
None
Yes, paid in PAXG to AYNI stakers
Custody
Paxos vaults, audited monthly by WithumSmith+Brown
INGEMMET-registered concession (No. 070011405); smart contracts audited by CertiK and PeckShield
Best for
Long-term gold holders who want price exposure on-chain
Users who want gold exposure plus yield from real gold mining
Two takeaways. PAXG is a stable, audited, redeemable claim on stored gold with no native yield. Ayni Gold is a yield-bearing claim on gold production, with returns tied to operational performance and a wider risk profile.
Why PAXG Holders Should Care About Ayni Gold
Most PAXG yield staking strategies require leaving PAXG. Holders deposit it on lending platforms, pair it in liquidity pools, or wrap it through external protocols.
Each of those routes adds smart contract exposure, counterparty exposure, or impermanent loss to a position that started as simple gold exposure.
Ayni Gold solves that asymmetry differently. The protocol does not ask PAXG holders to leave PAXG. It pays them in PAXG.
Users stake AYNI and earn PAXG payouts that track output at the concession. For users who want to earn yield in gold without giving up gold-denominated exposure, the architecture matters.
The PAXG use case
PAXG fits one need cleanly: putting gold price exposure on-chain in a form crypto-native users can hold and use as collateral. Six years of operational history, billions in market cap, and direct redemption to physical gold. The product matches the use case.
PAXG also serves as infrastructure across the broader gold-on-chain category:
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Lending platforms accept it as collateral
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Stablecoin protocols use it as a non-fiat reserve asset
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TradFi gold instruments may settle into or against it
The Ayni Gold use case
Ayni Gold solves something PAXG cannot. The protocol pays out in PAXG, sourced from gold extracted at the Minerales San Hilario concession, letting holders earn yield without leaving the asset. Hold the position. Receive gold.
An AYNI position gives holders five things no vault-backed token offers:
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Yield paid in PAXG, denominated in gold not dollars
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Exposure to mining throughput rather than static stored metal
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Returns tied to actual mining output, not market sentiment or stored inventory
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No need to move capital across multiple protocols to chase income
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Gold-backed yield without giving up gold-denominated returns
This is the underserved audience in DeFi: users who want gold exposure and income from it, in one position. Until this category emerged, the only options were vault tokens with no yield or DeFi strategies with no gold backing. Ayni Gold fills that gap directly.
Where Each One Fits
PAXG fits one use case directly. Users who want gold on-chain in a form that works in any DeFi wallet, settles cleanly, and redeems back to physical gold get exactly that.
The limitation is what PAXG cannot do by design. The token represents stored gold, and stored gold produces nothing. Yield strategies built on PAXG require leaving the asset and accepting risk elsewhere.
Ayni Gold answers the gap. The position pays out in PAXG, so the gold-denominated exposure stays intact, and the yield comes from extraction at the mine. For users who want gold exposure and staking rewards in gold without juggling protocols, that combination exists in only a handful of products.
PAXG vs Ayni Gold is the wrong question. The real question is whether the gold a user holds should sit still or earn income while it sits.
The Bottom Line
PAXG represents a static asset: stored gold backing each token. Ayni Gold represents a productive asset: a share of the capacity that produces gold.
PAXG gives price exposure with no native yield. Ayni Gold gives yield from real gold mining output, paid in PAXG itself.
In the broader category of gold-backed tokens vs stablecoins, both products offer something stablecoins do not: durable value tied to gold. Only one of them adds yield to that exposure.
For users weighing where to allocate, the question is what kind of gold position fits the goal. Stored gold for price exposure. Mining capacity for DeFi gold yield backed by real production.
FAQ
Should I hold PAXG or Ayni Gold?
Neither answer is universal. PAXG fits users who want stable, audited, redeemable gold price exposure on-chain. Ayni Gold fits holders who pair that exposure with mining-output yield. Some users hold both for different reasons.
Is Ayni Gold's yield paid in AYNI or in PAXG?
Yield is paid in PAXG, not in AYNI. Holders receive a gold-backed stable yield, with the reward denominated in gold instead of tied to a project token that could move independently.
How often are PAXG rewards distributed?
Distribution is quarterly. AYNI stakers receive PAXG rewards every three months, with the amount tied to mining output for the quarter, net of operational costs and the protocol's success fee.
What happens to yield if mining output drops?
Yield drops with it. Returns track operational performance at the concession, so a quarter with lower extraction means a smaller PAXG distribution. The exposure works in reverse on stronger quarters as well.
Can I redeem PAXG for physical gold?
Yes, through Paxos directly. Holders with at least 430 PAXG (one London Good Delivery bar) can redeem for physical gold. Smaller positions can be redeemed for cash.
Can I redeem AYNI tokens for physical gold?
No. AYNI is not a redemption claim on stored gold. It is a position in mining capacity that pays out PAXG rewards from production. The PAXG received as rewards can, in turn be redeemed at Paxos.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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