PAXG contract. You gain nothing in this position. Grab AYNI and hold it steady. You can get quarterly rewards in gold, paid out in PAXG itself.
Both tokens place gold on the blockchain. Only one of them generates DeFi gold yield. This difference is structural, not marketing, and it determines which product suits which user.
Ayni Gold is a DeFi protocol built on a gold mine in Peru. PAXG, issued by Paxos, is a token individually backed by physical gold held in a vault. PAXG tracks the price of gold. Ayni Gold tracks gold production.
Cross-chain gold demand will rise sharply in 2026. The daily trading volume of Bitget’s TradFi desk exceeded $6 billion, with gold being the most traded pair. Both products take advantage of this current. They serve different users.
What each symbol actually represents
The two symbols look similar from the outside but refer to different underlying objects: one refers to a mineral already in stock, the other to a mineral still being mined.
Pax Gold (PAXG): A token backed by Vaulted Gold
Each PAXG token corresponds to one troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold held by Paxos Trust Company at Brink’s facilities. Holders can redeem PAXG for physical gold or cash through Paxos directly.
PAXG was launched in 2019 and has grown to become the largest gold-backed cryptocurrency by market cap. Vault Testimonials is 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 gold as a yield generating asset, PAXG itself does not work. He’s sitting on the chain. Any returns on the position come from the gold market or from external strategies put in place by the holder, such as lending, liquidity provision or external hedging platforms.
Ayni Gold (AYNI): Stake in Gold Production
Aini Gold reflects the model. the AYNI tokenomics The documents show that the AYNI symbol represents 4 cubic centimeters per hour of mining capacity in the Minerales San Hilario concession, an 8-square-kilometre alluvial site in the Madre de Dios region of Peru.
Total supply is fixed at 806,451,613 tokens. Minerals SH San Hilario SCRL, the company that operates the mine, obtained concession number 070011405 with INGEMMET, the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Peru.
The code is not redeemable for gold. It is concentrated in a productive asset, more like mining royalties than a vault receipt.
Users who own an AYNI stake receive PAXG income proportional to mining production, net of costs and success fees.
The protocol burns 15% of its accumulated success fees every quarter, shrinking the circulating supply over time. This makes AYNI a gold-backed crypto yield center with built-in cash flow.
How is the PAXG bonus calculated?
The bonus account is published in normal form:
PAXG Reward = (AYNI_staked × Mining_output × Time_factor) − Costs − Success_Fee
Each entry in this formula assigns a real number. The amount of accumulated AYNI is on the chain. Mining outputs, costs and success fees are reported by the operator.
There is no private model on top, which makes the return mechanisms auditable in a way that most DeFi protocols do not.
On the smart contract side, the AYNI ERC-20 contract has been reviewed by CertiK (October 2025) and separately by PeckShield. Both reports live on the protocol Trust and scrutiny page.
Side by side: the six important dimensions
The structural differences become more apparent when placed on the dimensions that the buyer is actually evaluating.
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PAXG
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Ayni Gold
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What the token represents
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One troy ounce of physical gold is kept in the Paxos vault
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4 cc/hour of mining capacity in the San Hilario Minerals concession in Peru
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Source of revenue
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Gold price movement only
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Income at PAXG is proportional to real gold mining production, as well as exposure to the gold price on reward assets
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Original return
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no one
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Yes, PAXG is paid to AYNI quota holders
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Bail
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Paxos Safes, audited monthly by WithumSmith+Brown
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Franchise registered with INGEMMET (No. 070011405); Smart contracts audited by CertiK and PeckShield
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Best for
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Long-term gold holders who want on-chain price exposure
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Users who want exposure to gold in addition to the return from real gold mining
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Two takeaways. PAXG is a settled, audited and redeemable claim on stored gold with no local return. Ayni Gold is a yielding claim on gold production, with returns linked to operational performance and the broader risk profile.
Why PAXG Holders Should Care About Ayni Gold
Most PAXG revenue share strategies require leaving PAXG. Holders deposit them on lending platforms, pair them in liquidity pools, or wrap them through external protocols.
Each of these methods adds smart contract exposure, counterparty exposure, or nonpermanent loss to a position that started out as simple gold exposure.
Ayni Gold This asymmetry is resolved differently. The protocol does not require PAXG holders to leave PAXG. Pay them in PAXG.
Users participate in AYNI and earn PAXG payouts that follow production in the franchise. For users who want to earn a return on gold without giving up gold-denominated exposure, the architecture is important.
PAXG use case
PAXG clearly fits one’s needs: putting exposure to gold prices on-chain in a form that native users of cryptocurrencies can hold and use as collateral. Six years of operational history, billions in market capitalization, and direct recovery of physical gold. The product matches the use case.
PAXG also acts as cross-chain infrastructure for gold on the broader chain:
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Lending platforms accept it as collateral
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Stablecoin protocols use it as an illicit reserve asset
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TradFi Gold Instruments may settle for or against it
Ayni Gold use case
Ayni Gold solves something PAXG can’t. The protocol is paid in PAXG, which is sourced from gold mined in the Minerales San Hilario concession, allowing holders to earn a return without leaving the asset. Hold this position. Get gold.
The AYNI position gives its holders five things that a vault-backed token does not:
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The yield paid in PAXG, is denominated in gold, not dollars
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Exposure to mining throughput rather than fixed stored metal
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Returns are tied to actual mining production, 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 returns without giving up gold-denominated returns
This is the underserved audience in DeFi: users who want exposure to gold and income from it, in one place. Until this category emerged, the only options were vault tokens with no return or DeFi strategies without gold backing. Ayni Gold fills this gap directly.
Where it suits everyone
The PAXG fits directly into one use case. Users who want on-chain gold in a form that works in any DeFi wallet, settles cleanly, and redeems back into physical gold get exactly that.
The limitation is what PAXG cannot do by design. The symbol represents stored gold, and stored gold produces nothing. PAXG-based return strategies require leaving the asset and accepting risk elsewhere.
Ayni Gold answers this gap. The payment is made in PAXG, so the gold-denominated exposure remains intact, and the return comes from extraction at the mine. For users who want exposure to gold and receive rewards in gold without gamified protocols, this combination exists in only a few products.
PAXG vs Ayni Gold is the wrong question. The real question is whether the gold the user holds should remain stable or earn income while it remains.
Bottom line
PAXG represents a fixed asset: the stored gold that backs each token. Ayni Gold represents a productive asset: a share of the capacity that produces gold.
PAXG provides price exposure with no original return. Ayni Gold offers a return from real gold mining production, paid at PAXG itself.
In the broader category of gold-backed tokens versus stablecoins, both products offer something that stablecoins do not: lasting value tied to gold. Only one of them adds return to that exposure.
For users weighing placement, the question is what type of gold placement suits the target. Store gold for price exposure. DeFi gold yield mining capacity is backed by real production.
Instructions
Should I take PAXG or Ayni Gold?
Neither answer is universal. PAXG suits users who want stable, audited, and recoverable cross-chain exposure to gold prices. Ayni Gold suits holders who link this exposure to a return on mining output. Some users keep both for different reasons.
Is Ayni Gold’s yield paid in AYNI or in PAXG?
The payout is paid in PAXG, not in AYNI. Token holders receive a fixed return backed by gold, and the reward is denominated in gold rather than tied to a project token that can move independently.
How often are PAXG rewards distributed?
Distribution is quarterly. AYNI stakeholders receive PAXG rewards quarterly, with the amount tied to the mining output for the quarter, after deducting operating costs and protocol success fees.
What happens to the return if mining production decreases?
The return decreases with it. Returns track operating performance in the concession area, so a lower extraction quarter means a smaller PAXG distribution. Exposure works in the opposite direction on the stronger quadrants as well.
Can I exchange PAXG for physical gold?
Yes via Paxos directly holders with at least 430 PAXG (one good delivery bar in London) can redeem physical gold. Smaller positions can be redeemed for cash.
Can I exchange AYNI tokens for physical gold?
No, AYNI does not claim a refund on stored gold. It is a position in mining capacity that pays PAXG rewards from production. PAXG received can be redeemed as rewards at Paxos.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.
