January 9, 2026 — The spot price of gold remains elevated at around $4,480 per ounce, while spot silver has reached $77.40 per ounce.
According to Gate’s market page, the exchange currently offers a range of metal-backed tokens, including PAXG, XAUT, and SLVON, giving cryptocurrency users new avenues for investing in traditional precious metals.
01 The Dawn of the Digital Gold Era
Gold and silver, prized by humanity for centuries, are entering a new phase of investment in the digital economy. Traditionally, investing in physical precious metals meant dealing with challenges like storage, security, and liquidity.
The emergence of tokenized precious metals has fundamentally changed this landscape. Each token is pegged 1:1 to physical gold or silver, transforming the value of precious metals into blockchain-based digital assets.
This innovation’s core advantage lies in combining the security of traditional assets with the convenience of digital assets. Unlike physical metals, these tokens can be easily divided, transferred, and traded just like cryptocurrencies.
Investors no longer need to worry about storage and security, yet still benefit from the value protection and appreciation potential of precious metals. For those who have long focused on crypto investments, tokenized metals offer a valuable addition to asset allocation.
02 Key Advantages: Why Buy Precious Metals with Crypto Tokens?
Compared to traditional gold investing, purchasing precious metal tokens with cryptocurrency offers distinct advantages. First is divisibility: while the smallest unit of a gold bar is typically one ounce, tokenized gold can be split into much smaller fractions.
This means investors can easily buy $100 worth of gold, rather than having to purchase a full ounce valued at over $4,400.
Liquidity and ease of trading are other major benefits. Precious metal tokens can be traded 24/7 on supported crypto exchanges, with no geographic or time restrictions.
Investors can adjust their holdings at any time in response to market changes—a flexibility that’s hard to achieve with traditional precious metals.
Transparency and security are also important considerations. Blockchain-based precious metal tokens offer open and traceable transaction records, so all transfers and holdings can be tracked.
Moreover, these tokens are backed by physical reserves, so investors actually hold rights to real assets—not just empty promises.
03 How to Buy Precious Metal Tokens on Gate
Buying precious metal tokens on Gate is similar to purchasing other cryptocurrencies. First, you’ll need a Gate account and must complete the required verification steps.
Preparing your account is essential—make sure you’ve completed identity verification and deposited enough USDT or other Gate-supported cryptocurrencies to fund your trades.
When selecting tokens, you’ll find options like PAXG, XAUT, and SLVON in Gate’s trading market. For example, PAXG represents Paxos-issued gold tokens, with each PAXG corresponding to one ounce of physical gold stored in a professional vault.
As of January 9, 2026, PAXG’s live trading price is $4,484.54.
The trading process is straightforward: enter the token symbol (such as PAXG) in the search bar, choose your preferred trading pair (like PAXG/USDT), and on the trading interface, you can place either limit or market orders to buy.
Once the transaction is complete, these precious metal tokens are stored in your Gate account, where you can monitor their value and make further trades as needed.
04 Metal Token Price Trends: New Highs for Precious Metals
2025 was a strong year for precious metals. According to Coinlore, PAX Gold (PAXG) rose from a low of about $2,630 to a high of $4,335, delivering an annual return of 64.76%.
This performance even outpaced Bitcoin’s gains over the same period. Moving into 2026, the precious metals market continues its upward trajectory.
As of January 9, 2026, PAXG’s latest price stands at $4,477.43, up 67.73% from $2,669.37 a year earlier.
Tether Gold (XAUT) has shown a similar trend, closing at $4,464.09 on January 9, 2026.
Historically, the price volatility of metal-backed tokens closely mirrors that of the physical precious metals market, but tokens offer more flexible trading opportunities. In times of increased financial uncertainty, gold’s role as a safe haven asset becomes more prominent, driving demand and price growth for tokenized gold.
05 In-Depth Look at Different Metal Tokens
Gate currently supports several major precious metal tokens, each with its own features. PAXG (PAX Gold) is issued by Paxos, with each token representing one ounce of gold stored in a professional vault in London. It offers high transparency and undergoes regular audits.
XAUT (Tether Gold), issued by Tether, is also pegged 1:1 to physical gold, but provides more flexible trading pairs.
For silver investors, SLVON offers exposure to the world’s largest silver ETF (iShares Silver Trust). While specific price data for SLVON is limited in search results, physical silver prices broke through $77 per ounce at the end of 2025, indicating strong upward momentum.
These three tokens represent different approaches to precious metal investing: direct physical gold investment (PAXG and XAUT) and silver ETF tracking (SLVON). Investors can choose or combine them based on their risk preferences and market outlook.
06 Risk Assessment and Investment Strategies
While precious metal tokens offer a convenient investment channel, they come with specific risks. First is market volatility: although gold is often seen as a safe haven, its price is still subject to fluctuations from various factors.
Issuer risk is another consideration—the value of these tokens depends on whether the issuer truly holds sufficient physical gold reserves. Choosing regulated and transparent issuers like Paxos and Tether is crucial.
For long-term investors, a regular investment plan may be more prudent than making large lump-sum purchases. By investing a fixed amount in precious metal tokens monthly or quarterly, you can mitigate market volatility and achieve a more averaged entry price.
It’s also wise to treat precious metals as part of a diversified portfolio, rather than allocating all assets to them. Balanced asset allocation helps investors maintain stability across different market conditions.
07 Future Trends: The Convergence of Metal Tokens and Digital Assets
As blockchain technology and the crypto market mature, tokenized precious metals are poised for further growth. Market data from September 2025 shows that monthly trading volumes for PAXG and XAUT on decentralized exchanges hit record highs.
This signals rising interest in precious metals among native crypto users.
Technological advances are opening new possibilities for metal tokens. Cross-chain interoperability will allow users to transfer and trade precious metal tokens across multiple blockchain networks.
Smart contract integration could enable complex financial products based on metal tokens, such as collateralized lending and derivatives trading.
As regulatory clarity improves, institutional confidence in these assets will increase. With more traditional financial institutions entering the digital asset space, tokenized precious metals may become a vital bridge between traditional finance and the crypto world.
Outlook
Based on Gate’s market data, as of January 9, 2026, the PAXG price is around $4,484.54, while XAUT closed at $4,464.09.
The London Bullion Market Association quotes spot gold at $4,480.00 and spot silver at $77.40. These figures flash across screens in both exchanges and physical markets, with no boundaries of trading hours anymore.
