How to keep PAX Gold on a Ledger

Does Ledger support PAXG?

Yes. Ledger has an official PAX Gold wallet page that describes PAXG as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and says you can add a PAX Gold account in Ledger Live in a couple of clicks. We checked that page on 12 October 2026. It names the Nano S Plus and Nano X in its setup steps and recommends the Stax and Flex as well. Any Ledger that runs the Ethereum app can hold PAXG.

The important detail is how the support works. There is no “PAX Gold app” on the device. A Ledger stores private keys, and the Ethereum app signs transactions for Ethereum and every ERC-20 token on it. Your PAXG never sits inside the hardware. It sits on the Ethereum blockchain at your address, and the Ledger is the only thing that can authorize moving it. If you are new to the token itself, our guide to what PAX Gold is explains the one-token-one-ounce model first.

One PAXG represents one fine troy ounce of a London Good Delivery gold bar held for holders by Paxos Trust Company, N.A., which has operated under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) since 12 December 2025. Putting PAXG on a Ledger removes exchange risk from the picture. It does not remove issuer risk: Paxos can still freeze or wipe a balance under its terms. Our page on whether PAX Gold is safe covers those powers in detail.

Before you start

You need three things: a genuine Ledger bought from Ledger or an authorized reseller, the 24-word recovery phrase written on paper, and Ledger Live installed from ledger.com. Recent Ledger pages call the app “Ledger Wallet”; the steps below are the same. If you are still comparing devices or thinking about a mobile or browser wallet instead, start with our PAX Gold wallets overview.

Decide how much ETH you will keep beside your PAXG. Paxos dropped the old 0.02% on-chain transfer fee, so PAXG itself costs nothing to move. Ethereum gas does not go away, though. Every PAXG transfer, approval or DeFi deposit is paid in ETH from the same account. An account holding 2 PAXG and zero ETH is stuck until you top it up.

Set up PAXG in Ledger Live, step by step

The whole process takes about ten minutes on a fresh device. Most of it is the one-time Ethereum app install. After that, receiving PAXG is the same as receiving ETH.

1. Update the device and app

   Connect your Ledger, open Ledger Live (newer Ledger pages call the app Ledger Wallet) and install any firmware update it offers. Only download the app from ledger.com.

2. Install the Ethereum app on the device

   Go to My Ledger, unlock the device with your PIN, approve the manager prompt and install Ethereum. There is no separate PAX Gold app — PAXG is handled by the Ethereum app.

3. Add an Ethereum account

   Open Accounts → Add account, pick Ethereum and let Ledger Live create or find the account. Ledger’s own page calls this adding a PAX Gold account; in practice PAXG is shown inside this Ethereum account.

4. Open Receive and choose PAX Gold

   Click Receive, select the Ethereum account and PAX Gold (PAXG) if the token list is offered. The address shown is your normal Ethereum address — the same one used for ETH.

5. Verify the address on the device screen

   Ledger Live asks you to confirm the address on the device. Compare every character on the Ledger screen with the one on your computer and the one you paste into the exchange. Malware can swap a copied address; the device screen cannot be faked.

6. Fund the account with a little ETH

   Send a small amount of ETH to the same address. You do not need it to receive PAXG, but you will need it to pay gas when you send PAXG later.

After the first deposit lands, the PAXG balance appears under the Ethereum account as a token line. If you sent PAXG before adding the token view, nothing is lost. The balance is on-chain at your address and Ledger Live will show it once it syncs. You can also confirm it independently by pasting your address into Etherscan.

Check the contract before you trust a balance

Fake tokens using the PAXG name and symbol exist on several chains. Anyone can deploy a token called “PAX Gold”, and some scammers airdrop worthless copies into wallets to make people interact with them. The only official Ethereum PAXG is the contract below. Ledger lists PAX Gold as a supported token, but it is still worth checking yourself on Etherscan, especially if a balance appears that you did not expect.

To check, open the token in Ledger Live or on Etherscan and compare the contract address character by character with the one above, or with the address Paxos lists on its site. An address that matches only the first and last few characters is not a match. Our page on PAXG contract addresses and networks goes through the Etherscan view, decimals and how to spot copies.

Sending PAXG from an exchange to your Ledger

Most people buy PAXG on an exchange and then withdraw it. The withdrawal screen is where mistakes happen, so slow down here. If you have not bought yet, our how to buy PAX Gold guide and the PAXG exchanges comparison show which venues list it and in which pairs.

First, choose the network. On the exchange withdrawal page pick Ethereum (ERC-20). Some exchanges offer other networks for PAXG, such as BNB Smart Chain. Those are not official Paxos deployments, and Ledger Live will not show a BSC PAXG balance in your Ethereum account. Solana is now an official Paxos network, but we could not confirm Ledger support for Solana PAXG, so do not pick it for a Ledger.

Second, paste the address you verified on the device. Then check the first six and last six characters against the Ledger screen again. Clipboard malware that replaces addresses is common, and the device is the trusted display.

Third, send a test transaction. Withdraw a small amount first, for example 0.01 PAXG, and wait for it to appear in Ledger Live. Then send the rest. Exchange withdrawal fees vary and are set by each venue, so check the fee line before you confirm. As a worked example: if an exchange charges a fixed fee equal to 0.0005 PAXG per withdrawal, a test of 0.01 PAXG plus a main withdrawal of 1.99 PAXG costs 0.001 PAXG in total. That small extra cost buys real safety on a five-figure transfer.

See the gold bar behind your PAXG

Moving PAXG to a Ledger has one practical bonus. Paxos runs a Gold Allocation Look up tool that shows the serial number, weight and vault of the bar or bars allocated to an address. Paxos says it works for self-custodied Ethereum and Solana addresses only, not for custodial exchange wallets. A Ledger address is self-custodied, so it qualifies.

Copy your Ethereum address from Ledger Live, paste it into the lookup on paxos.com and you will see the allocation details. Nothing is signed and the device does not need to be connected. Remember that this is a public address lookup, so anyone with your address can see the same data. To understand what the bar details mean and how the monthly KPMG LLP attestations fit in, read our page on PAX Gold’s gold backing.

Using PAXG in DeFi with Ledger and MetaMask

Some holders want to use PAXG as collateral or in liquidity pools while keeping keys on hardware. The usual route is to connect your Ledger to a browser wallet such as MetaMask. MetaMask then shows the account and builds transactions, but each signature still has to be approved on the Ledger. In MetaMask you add a hardware wallet, choose Ledger and select the same Ethereum account you use in Ledger Live. Your PAXG then shows in both apps, because they read the same address.

Read every prompt on the device. A token approval gives a contract permission to move your PAXG. Some apps ask for unlimited approvals by default. Where the app allows it, approve only the amount you plan to deposit, and revoke old approvals you no longer use. Blind signing should stay off unless a specific app needs it and you understand why.

In September 2026, PAXG was reported live as collateral on Aave V4’s Global Dollar Hub on Ethereum, and it trades in Uniswap and Curve pools. Final Aave parameters could not be confirmed. Lending and pools add liquidation, oracle and smart-contract risk on top of issuer risk, and none of it is native PAXG yield. Our PAXG staking and yield guide explains each option and what it risks.

What about Solana PAXG?

Paxos made Solana an official PAXG network on 25 June 2026, using the Token-2022 standard. That matters for Ledger users because Token-2022 tokens are newer than ordinary SPL tokens and wallet support varies. Ledger’s PAX Gold page, as checked on 12 October 2026, only describes the Ethereum token. Ledger’s Solana page mentions SPL tokens in general but says nothing about Token-2022 or PAXG.

So our position is simple. We could not verify Ledger support for Solana PAXG. Paxos has not published the Solana mint address on its blog either, so we do not print one. If you hold Solana PAXG, confirm the mint address on paxos.com and check Ledger’s own support pages before sending it to a Ledger Solana account. For long-term storage on a Ledger, the Ethereum version is the safe choice today.

Common mistakes to avoid

Sending on the wrong network. BSC or another unofficial network is the most frequent costly error. Choose Ethereum (ERC-20) for a Ledger Ethereum account.

No ETH for gas. You can receive PAXG with zero ETH, but you cannot send it. Keep a small ETH balance in the same account.

Trusting a token by its name. Airdropped “PAXG” look-alikes are worthless. Check the contract address, and never visit a website named in a token’s description.

Skipping on-device verification. The address on your computer screen can be altered by malware. The one on the Ledger screen cannot.

Storing the recovery phrase digitally. A photo, a cloud note or a password manager entry turns a hardware wallet back into a hot wallet.

Expecting the Ledger to make PAXG redeemable. Self-custody does not give you a Paxos account. Redeeming for dollars or gold requires a verified Paxos account, and physical bars need 430 PAXG plus fees, with delivery in London. Our page on PAXG redemption and fees explains the cheaper exits. If you are weighing PAXG against Tether Gold for long-term storage, see PAXG vs XAUT.