Choosing a PAX Gold wallet you fully control

The four ways to hold PAXG

A PAXG wallet does not store gold, or even the token itself. It stores the private key that controls an address on Ethereum or Solana, and the token balance lives on the blockchain. PAX Gold is a standard ERC-20 token with 18 decimals, so you do not need a special “PAX Gold wallet” download. You need a wallet that supports the right network and that you trust with your keys.

Hardware wallets such as Ledger, Trezor and Tangem keep the key on a separate device and ask you to approve every transaction on it. They suit anyone holding more than pocket money in PAXG. Mobile wallets such as Trust Wallet are convenient for small balances and frequent use, but the key sits on a phone that also runs other apps. Browser wallets such as MetaMask connect easily to DeFi apps and exchanges, which is useful and also the main attack surface for phishing.

Exchange custody means leaving PAXG on the exchange where you bought it. You hold an IOU from the exchange, not the token at your own address. That is the simplest option and the right one if you trade often. It is also the one with the most counterparty risk: if the exchange halts withdrawals or fails, your gold claim waits with everyone else’s.

Self-custody does not remove issuer risk

Holding PAXG in your own wallet protects you from exchange failure, but Paxos keeps the right to freeze, wipe or pause PAXG under its terms and to upgrade the contract. Self-custody changes who you depend on; it does not make the token independent of Paxos.

PAXG wallet compatibility table

The table summarizes what we could confirm on 12 October 2026. Ledger, Trezor and Tangem have PAXG-specific pages on their own sites. For MetaMask and Trust Wallet we did not check a PAXG-specific official page, so we list them as generic ERC-20 support: they handle any standard Ethereum token, and PAXG is one.

For a hardware setup, our Ledger PAXG walkthrough goes through Ledger Live step by step: creating the Ethereum account, receiving PAXG and confirming the contract. Trezor users can follow a similar path in Trezor Suite, or pair the device with MetaMask or Rabby if they use DeFi. Whichever wallet you pick, write the recovery phrase on paper or metal and never type it into a website.

How to add PAXG as a custom token

Many wallets do not show PAXG until you add it. The token is already at your address once someone sends it; you are only telling the app to display it. Adding the token manually by contract address is safer than picking it from a search list, because lists can contain lookalike tokens with the same name.

1. Select the Ethereum network

   In MetaMask, Trust Wallet or a similar app, make sure the active network is Ethereum Mainnet. PAXG on Ethereum lives only there; the same address on another chain will not show it.

2. Open “Import token” or “Add custom token”

   The wording differs by app. Choose the custom or manual option rather than picking a result from a search list, because search lists can include copycat tokens.

3. Paste the contract address

   Enter 0x45804880De22913dAFE09f4980848ECE6EcbAf78. Copy it from Etherscan or paxos.com, not from a chat message or an ad. Most wallets then fill in the symbol and decimals automatically.

4. Check the details

   The symbol should read PAXG and the decimals 18. If the wallet shows anything else, stop and check the address again.

5. Confirm and test

   Save the token, then receive a small test amount before moving your full balance. Check that it appears on Etherscan under your address.

If your balance looks wrong after adding the token, the usual culprit is the wrong network or a wrong contract. Our PAXG networks and contract guide explains which deployments are official and which are not. Paxos has no official PAXG deployment on BNB Smart Chain or Arbitrum, so a “PAXG” there is a bridged or third-party token.

Gas: you need ETH or SOL to move PAXG

PAXG no longer carries an on-chain transfer fee from Paxos; the old fee was removed. But every Ethereum transaction still needs gas, paid in ETH. Receiving PAXG costs you nothing, since the sender pays. Sending it, selling it through a decentralized exchange or approving a DeFi app all cost ETH.

This catches many first-time holders out. They withdraw PAXG from an exchange to a fresh wallet, then find they cannot move it because the wallet holds no ETH. The fix is simple: send a small amount of ETH to the same address before you need it. Gas prices change by the minute, so check the current estimate in your wallet rather than relying on a fixed amount. On Solana the same rule applies with SOL, though network fees there are typically much lower.

As an example: if you plan to move PAXG to an exchange twice a year, keep enough ETH for three or four transfers so that one busy day on the network does not leave you stuck.

PAXG on Solana: Token-2022 wallets only

Solana became an official PAXG chain on 25 June 2026, launched with Sunrise DeFi on Solana’s Token-2022 standard. Paxos supports moving PAXG between Ethereum and Solana through the Paxos platform or LayerZero’s Stargate bridge. To hold it, you need a Solana wallet that supports Token-2022 tokens; older wallet versions may not display them correctly.

One technical point for advanced users: the Solana token uses Token-2022’s transfer-fee extension set to zero, but the authority to change it remains live, so a fee could in principle be introduced there. On Ethereum, the current contract has no fee logic at all.

Gold Allocation Look-up needs self-custody

One of PAXG’s distinctive features is Paxos’s Gold Allocation Look-up. Enter a wallet address and it shows the serial number, weight and vault of the London Good Delivery bar or bars allocated to it. Our guide to PAXG’s gold backing explains how that allocation works.

The look-up works only for self-custodied Ethereum and Solana addresses. If your PAXG sits on an exchange, it is pooled in the exchange’s own wallets, and the tool cannot show a bar for your share. That is a practical reason to withdraw at least part of your holding to a wallet you control.

Security checklist for PAXG holders

Most wallet losses come from people, not cryptography. Phishing sites, fake support agents and malicious approvals account for far more stolen tokens than broken encryption. Run through this list when you set up a wallet and again every few months.

A wallet is only half of owning PAXG safely. The other half is understanding the issuer: Paxos’s freeze powers, its custodians and its attestations. Our PAX Gold safety review covers those in detail. When you are ready to buy, our step-by-step buying guide and the PAXG exchange comparison will get you from bank account to self-custody.