Gold, Tokenized: Who Really Lets You Walk Out With a Bar?

Gold, Tokenized: Who Really Lets You Walk Out With a Bar?

Gold, Tokenized: Who Really Lets You Walk Out With a Bar?


๐—œ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ, ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ-๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟโ€”๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟโ€”๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐˜€. We vetted redemption venues, minimums, fees, and chains across five programs with Swiss links (DGLD, PAXG, XAUt, DaVinci, SGT). The punchline: redemption works, but itโ€™s gated by full-bar thresholds, eligibility, and logistics fees. And if youโ€™re comparing to exchange-listed gold like GLD or IAU, retail redemption there is effectively off-limits.

Snapshot: Redeemable Gold Tokens (with primary chain)

Token
Where you redeem (primary path)
Minimum for a bar
Primary chain (other live networ ks)
Can you add physical gold to mint?
Notable fees / notes
DGLD

๐—š๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—”๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฒ checkout or direct with issuer; gold held at ๐— ๐—ž๐—ฆ ๐—ฃ๐—”๐— ๐—ฃ in Switzerland. Physical redemption now enabled in CH/EU.1-2

Whole-ba r redemptio ns for direct delivery; smaller sizes fulfilled via Gold Avenue.

Eth

Institutional/a uthorized participants; retail typically buys tokens vs. depositing metal.

Program: creation/redemption at bar events (institutional). Retail uses Gold Avenue pricing + shipping. No ongoing โ€œtoken custodyโ€ fee advertised by DGLD.

Pax Gold (PAXG)

Redeem via ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜…๐—ผ๐˜€ for London Good Delivery bars; smaller amounts via authorized bullion dealers (some operating in CH). Delivery is to ๐—จ๐—ž ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜€ when redeeming whole bars through Paxos.

โ‰ˆ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฃ๐—”๐—ซ๐—š (London bar range drives over-colla teralizatio n).

Eth

No retail โ€œbring your own barโ€; minting occurs when you buy new PAXG (Paxos sources metal).

On-chain transfer ๐Ÿฌ.๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ%; creation/redemption tiers (up to ~1% for small sizes) + shipping/insurance on physical bar delivery. No storage fee from Paxos.

Tether Gold (XAUt)

Tether arranges delivery of bars to ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ; metal stored in Swiss vaults.

๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ซ๐—”๐—จ๐˜ (LBMA bar).

Eth, Tron, Ton

Issuance via Tether affiliates only; no retail deposit minting.

๐Ÿฌ.๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ% redemption fee + delivery/insurance; Tether advertises no storage fee. Certain jurisdictional restrictions (e.g., U.S. persons).

DaVinci Swiss Gold (DVGO/D VGK)

๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ธโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ญ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ต custody; tokens map to specific ๐Ÿญ-๐—ผ๐˜‡ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€ (๐——๐—ฉ๐—š๐—ข) ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿญ-๐—ธ๐—ด ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ (๐——๐—ฉ๐—š๐—ž) with serials. Pickup or delivery.

Per instrument (1 oz coin or 1 kg bar).

(๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ), not a public ERC-20

Possible to tokenize eligible gold via issuer (KYC/eligibilit y applies).

Published premiums/fees for coin vs. kilo, plus shipping and handling for delivery.

SEBA Gold Token (SGT)

๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฟ-๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฒ๐˜‚๐˜€ refinery, Switzerland; ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น/๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น SEBA Bank clients only.

Institution al bar units (kilo-scale + per client docs).

Eth

๐—ฌ๐—ฒ๐˜€, ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€: LBMA-grade metal can be delivered/rec eived against tokens.

Fees disclosed in client agreements (custody/trading/redemp tion) + delivery logistics at cost.

London Good Delivery bars vary by weight (โ‰ˆ370โ€“430 oz). Issuers ask holders to hold โ‰ˆ430 tokens to ensure a full-bar match plus fees for direct bar redemption; smaller sizes are usually routed through dealer partners who break into kilobars/coins and add fabrication and handling spreads.

What actually happens when you redeem

  • ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜ƒ๐˜€. ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€: PAXG whole-bar redemptions are delivered to UK vaults; for Swiss delivery on smaller tickets youโ€™ll likely go through a dealer who charges spreads and shipping. XAUt explicitly supports bar delivery to Swiss addresses. DGLD now offers physical redemption via Gold Avenue or direct contact in Switzerland/Europe.

  • ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ: Issuer program fees are only half the picture; ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜† (๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ), ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜…๐—ฒ๐˜€ come from the dealer/logistics side. For example, XAUt lists a ๐Ÿฌ.๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ% redemption fee before delivery costs; DaVinci publishes instrument-specific premiums (e.g., DVGO vs. DVGK) covering service and logistics.

  • ๐—˜๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€: SGT is ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ-๐—ผ๐—ป๐—น๐˜†; XAUt imposes jurisdictional eligibility; DGLD and PAXG require standard KYC/AML and compliance checks to move into physical. ๐—”๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด

Where Stellar fits

Stellarโ€™s long-standing strengthsโ€”๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜/๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„-๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐˜โ†”๐—–๐—ฟ๐˜†๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜€โ€”map naturally to tokenized bullion: an issuer (anchor) can gate transfers via allowlists/KYC, publish proof-of-reserve attestations, and automate redemption workflows (e.g., scheduled deliveries, whitelist-only swaps) while distributing to retail at low network cost. Add ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜†๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜€ and you get global cash-on/off for USDC on Stellar (cash out in ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฌ+ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€, cash-in in 30+), which could pair with a CH-vaulted gold token for practical liquidity without sacrificing custody discipline. As ever, the trust anchor is ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ-๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ปโ€”the vault/refiner and its disclosuresโ€”not the chain.

If you are interested in issuing a token - please contact us at sales@bpventures.us

About those ETFs (GLD, IAU): why retail redemption is โ€œnoโ€

Exchange-listed gold vehicles are designed for ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†, not walk-in redemptions. ๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐—”๐˜‚๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€โ€”large broker-dealers that can move bullionโ€”create and redeem ETF โ€œbasketsโ€ (e.g., ๐—š๐—Ÿ๐——: ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ,๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€, historically โ‰ˆ10,000 oz; ๐—œ๐—”๐—จ: ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ,๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ baskets). Retail holders buy/sell on exchange; they ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ turn shares into bars at the trust. If your goal is physical allocation you can touch, token programs (subject to the caveats above) or traditional vaulting are more direct routes than ETFs.

Practical playbook (before you click โ€œredeemโ€)

  1. ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ. Ask the issuer or dealer for all-in costs: redemption/program fees plus fabrication, shipping, insurance, and any taxes. XAUt publishes 0.25% program fee; the rest is logistics.

  2. ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜. If you want the cheapest per-ounce redemption, aim for full-bar thresholds (โ‰ˆ430 oz on London bars) or choose kilo/coin programs like DaVinci to match your ticket.

  3. ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜†. PAXG whole-bar redemptions are to UK vaults; Swiss delivery on small lots usually flows via dealers. XAUt supports bar delivery to Swiss addresses. DGLD now supports CH/EU physical redemption via Gold Avenue or direct.

  4. ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜. If you manage LBMA bars already, DGLD and SGT offer institution-grade mint/redeem against inventory under Swiss frameworks.