Report Industry Investment Rating No information provided in the content. Core Viewpoints of the Report - Amid tariff policies and geopolitical events causing global financial market volatility, the value of gold as a traditional safe - haven asset is increasingly prominent. Blockchain technology has spurred the rise of cryptocurrencies and given birth to gold - backed stablecoins, which combine gold's safe - haven nature with the high liquidity and decentralization of cryptocurrencies, offering new investment and risk - management tools for the traditional gold market and creating new buyers for gold [1][7]. - The report analyzes tokenized gold models represented by Pax Gold and Tether Gold, as well as the PGI scheme proposed by the World Gold Council in September 2025, and explores the differences and complementarities among the traditional gold market, tokenized gold models, and the PGI model [1][7]. - Gold - backed stablecoins, represented by XAUt and PAXG, have advantages such as low investment thresholds and low fees, with relatively low margin occupancy, but also face regulatory compliance issues due to decentralization and currently have a small scale. The PGI scheme shows the ambition to combine compliance and flexibility, with unique advantages in pledge and lease convenience, but its specific performance and market impact need further observation after implementation [3][45]. Summary According to the Directory 1. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Basics: The Technological Foundation for Understanding Gold - Backed Stablecoins 1.1 Core Features of Blockchain - Blockchain has two core features: non - tamperability and decentralization. Non - tamperability means that each transaction record on the blockchain is stored in a chained manner through encryption algorithms. To modify a historical transaction record in a block, one must modify a series of blockchain records and their cryptographic proofs, making the transaction records on the blockchain non - tamperable and non - forgeable [8]. - Decentralization means that the entire blockchain network has no single centralized server but consists of numerous nodes with equal rights, connected peer - to - peer. Transaction records are broadcast to the whole network, and all nodes can verify and store the complete transaction ledger, which helps build a trust mechanism and makes the network more secure and stable [11]. 1.2 Classification of Cryptocurrencies and the Positioning of Gold - Backed Stablecoins - Cryptocurrencies can be classified into three categories based on value anchoring: native cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin and Ether), stablecoins (e.g., USDT), and real - world assets (RWA). Gold - backed stablecoins are positioned between stablecoins and RWA, mainly as "convenient on - chain gold investment products" rather than "on - chain currencies" [15][17][18]. 2. Overview of Mainstream Gold - Backed Stablecoins: Pax Gold and Tether Gold 2.1 Pax Gold (PAXG): A Compliance Benchmark with Priority on Regulation - PAXG is an ERC - 20 standard gold token issued by Paxos in September 2019 on the Ethereum blockchain, with excellent compatibility. Paxos actively seeks higher - level financial regulation. Each PAXG token corresponds to 1 ounce of LBMA - certified physical gold stored in London vaults, and token holders can trace the corresponding gold. PAXG can be redeemed for legal tender, other cryptocurrencies, or physical gold. As of late October 2025, its market value has increased by 153.16% in the past year to about $1.35 billion, and the number of investment gold ounces has grown from 196,700 ounces to 332,000 ounces [22][24][25]. 2.2 Tether Gold (XAUt): A Late - Comer Dominator Backed by Tether - XAUt is issued by Tether, the issuer of the largest US dollar stablecoin USDT. It has become the leader in the gold - backed stablecoin market. Technically and in terms of reserves, it is similar to PAXG, but its compliance process is relatively slow. Tether is not a licensed financial institution, and its financial compliance risk is more uncertain. As of late October 2025, its market value has increased by 215.61% in the past year to about $2.14 billion, and the number of investment gold ounces has grown from 246,300 ounces to 521,800 ounces [27][28][29]. 2.3 Price Difference between Gold - Backed Stablecoins and Spot Gold - The quotes of mainstream gold - backed stablecoins represented by XAUt and PAXG are basically the same as the London gold spot price, but there are still price differences, with the premium or discount fluctuating within ±$100 per ounce [30]. 3. The World Gold Council's PGI Scheme: A Revolutionary Framework Combining Law, Technology, and Regulation 3.1 Background of the PGI Proposal - The traditional physical gold investment market has two trading models: allocated and unallocated gold models, both of which have pain points. The allocated gold model has a high investment threshold, poor liquidity, and holding costs, while the unallocated gold model has prominent counter - party risks. The PGI scheme is designed to address these issues [37]. 3.2 Core Design of PGI - The core design of PGI includes legal, technological, and regulatory aspects. Legally, it solves the legal difficulty of "divisible ownership" of physical gold, defining PGI as an "intangible movable property" with an account - isolation - like risk - control mechanism. Technologically, it is "technology - neutral", does not require physical delivery, and supports a minimum trading unit of one - thousandth of an ounce, with high liquidity. In terms of regulation, it meets the requirements of mainstream financial regulatory regulations in the US and Europe and can be used as a compliant collateral [38]. 4. Comparison of Gold Investment Tools - In terms of investment thresholds, gold - backed stablecoins and PGI have significantly lower thresholds. Gold - backed stablecoins have an advantage in holding costs. In terms of regulation, gold - backed stablecoins are weakly regulated due to decentralization, while PGI tries to balance blockchain technology and regulation. In terms of market scale, gold - backed stablecoins currently have a small scale, and the performance of PGI remains to be seen [43][44][45].