Gold’s rally fuels surge in ‘digital gold’ trading in Brazil

Brazilian interest in digital copies of gold traded on the cryptocurrency market has increased amid the metal's recent significant rise, despite a recent drop.

The volume of transactions in so-called "digital gold," such as the Pax Gold (PAXG) token, increased by around 300% in 2025, according to a survey conducted by Mercado Bitcoin (MB).

According to local media outlet InfoMoney, the rate of growth indicates an increasing tendency among local investors, notwithstanding the market's continued small size.

Compared with the over R$9.7 billion exchanged by the two primary gold exchange-traded funds listed on Brazil's stock exchange, GOLD11 and BIAU39, digital gold recorded trading volume of about R$50 million last year.

However, according to MB, the development is a result of growing interest in several avenues for gaining exposure to gold.

The company claims that while the number of investors purchasing this kind of commodity climbed by 20%, the average investment value in digital gold more than doubled, rising 94% during the period.

Global gold performance drives demand

In Brazil, the movement accompanies the behaviour of gold on the international scene. Geopolitical, fiscal, and monetary uncertainties have been keeping the metal in global portfolios as a safe-haven asset.

Pax Gold reached US$3.1 billion in 2025 worldwide, or about R$16 billion.

Regaining some momentum: gold price January correction. The metal was up by about 6% on Tuesday, after the latest trends continued to signal preference for demand for defensive assets amid a wider world that is daunting to predict.

Gold on Wednesday increased again and stood at US$5,034/oz per ounce, up 2.84%.

The diversification thesis of US assets that has been supporting gold is unaffected by last week's decline, according to analysts at JPMorgan and UBS.

They contend that, supported by purchases by central banks and ongoing geopolitical threats, the metal should continue its upward path.

Crypto dynamics and corporate support

The internal dynamics of the crypto-asset market have also aided in the expansion of digital gold.

By purchasing actual gold to support their tokens, businesses have aided in this growth. For instance, Tether buys a lot of the metal to back its XAUT coin.

Frequently referred to as "digital gold," Bitcoin is not the same as gold-backed coins.

According to Rony Szuster, head of research at MB, "When people say that Bitcoin is 'digital gold,' it's a conceptual comparison based on characteristics like scarcity."

PAX Gold, XAUT, and other gold tokens are examples of assets that are directly backed by real gold. The metal is merely represented digitally by these tokens.

Each token in Pax Gold represents a certain amount of gold that is kept in vaults approved by the London Bullion Market Association, a British organisation under the supervision of the Bank of England. Pax Gold is backed by actual bullion.

Custody and accessibility

Szuster claims that custody is one of the primary distinctions between conventional ETFs and gold-backed tokens. Investors can move tokens to digital wallets and maintain direct control using digital gold.

"With PAX Gold, the investor can transfer the token to a hard wallet and maintain custody, something that doesn't exist with ETFs, where you buy a fund share without direct control over the asset or its safekeeping," he explained.

He continued by saying that the model depends on a centralised issuer, even though it is backed by actual gold. The organisation in charge of issuing the tokens and holding the metal is still trusted.

"Because the physical gold is stored and linked to the asset, it is possible to invest in gold simply through the stablecoin, buying fractions of the metal starting from accessible values, without having to worry about other expenses," stated Giresse Contini, director of marketing, growth, and digital channels at MB.

Contini claims that between 2024 and 2025, the amount of digital gold under MB's custody increased by 122%, highlighting the expanding significance of tokenised bullion in Brazil's investing environment.