Review

Gold has been a popular commodity as a store of value since the dawn of time, but it has several issues.Even though it’s beautiful when used for jewelry, and super shiny even as a rock, it isn’t easy to move or store in any quantity, and it’s very difficult to divide into smaller units. In fact, most of the gold trading being done on exchanges is trading in derivatives without any actual physical gold ever changing hands.With the development of blockchain technology some forward thinking folks decided that making gold a digital asset would be a good idea. Paxos was one of the companies which digitized gold on the blockchain. Let’s see how they did it and how their Paxos Gold (PAXG) token functions as a blockchain asset.<h2>Who are Paxos?</h2>Paxos was founded in 2012 as a privately held company that’s working on rebuilding the infrastructure of finance in a decentralized manner. As their website proclaims, they want to “make it possible to move any assets anywhere, instantly – and therefore democratize access to a new, global, frictionless economy.” And they’re accomplishing this by digitizing assets, including gold.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PaxosLogo-1.jpg" alt="Paxos Logo"><figcaption>Paxos is making it possible "to move any assets anywhere, instantly." Image via <a href="https://www.paxos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos.com</a>&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>After launching the itBit cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore soon after the creation of the company they were awarded a limited purpose trust charter by the New York State Department of Financial Services, making them the first company approved and regulated to offer crypto products and services. Soon after that they became regulated qualified custodians, enabling them to branch out from stablecoins to digital gold.<h2>What is Paxos Gold (PAXG)?</h2>Paxos Gold was created as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and with it Paxos is looking to solve the fundamental problems with physical gold and the traditional gold markets. Namely, that in the traditional market, investors have no access to a high-quality gold product that easy to purchase, transport, store, and trade.In the traditional markets investors can certainly buy as much physical or allocated gold as they like, but along with the purchase comes the high risk of physical gold. This risk is due to the size and weight or larger gold bars, the expense of storing it safely, the inability to divide it into smaller units easily, and the fact that because it can be difficult to transport it can also be difficult to sell, trade, or use.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/BenefitsPaxGold.jpg" alt="Why Pax Gold"><figcaption>Pax Gold has many benefits vs alternatives. Image via Paxos.com&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>The alternative is to trade on unallocated gold futures, CFDs, or ETFs. These are just derivatives, without the backing of any physical gold at all. None of them involve actual ownership of gold. Rather it is little more than speculation of the changing price of gold without any physical gold to back up any of the assets. It makes trading easy, but there is no store of value involved.<h2>How does Paxos Gold work?</h2>Paxos is using blockchain technology to improve the distribution, storage, and ownership of gold. Because PAXG is a blockchain asset it is decentralized, immutable, and highly resistant to malicious attacks or theft. Paxos Gold is as good as gold, but without the problems of storage, transportation, and the risk of theft.The PAXG token is an ERC-20 token at the time of writing, but the <a href="https://www.paxos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/PAX-Gold-Whitepaper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whitepaper</a> does not specify that this platform is necessary, and Paxos could reissue PAXG on a different platform in the future.The PAX Gold asset is fully regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). There is no unallocated gold included in the PAXG backing, instead it is fully-collateralized by physical gold at the ratio of one troy ounce (roughly 31 grams) of a gold bar complying with the London Good Delivery standard, to one PAXG token.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PaxGold.jpg" alt="Pax Gold"><figcaption>The finest physical gold on blockchain - PAX Gold (PAXG). Image via Paxos.com&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>This conveys several benefits, such as the ability to easily divide the token into smaller units. It also avoids the storage fees normally associated with physical gold, as well as the problems with transport, delivery, and trading.Registration of the gold that is backing the token is transferred to the token holder, and it is possible to visit the <a href="https://www.paxos.com/paxgold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos website</a>, enter the Ethereum address holding the PAXG token, and see the serial number, weighting, and purity of the bar associated with the token.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PaxosGoldLookup.jpg" alt="Paxos Gold Allocation Lookup Tool"><figcaption>View the serial number, weighting, and purity of the bar associated with the PAXG token. Image via Paxos.com&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>The lookup tool only works for PAXG held on-chain in private wallets, not for tokens held in exchange wallets. Users who hold their PAXG in a Paxos account can always log in to view their allocation report and see all the same details and more.&nbsp;<a href="https://guy.coinbureau.com/swissborg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2021/09/Swissborg_inline.jpg" alt="Swissborg Inline"></a>&nbsp;<h2>Why use Paxos Gold?</h2>Paxos is best known for its stablecoin called <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/paxos-standard-pax/">Paxos Standard</a>, which is a fully-collateralized U.S. dollar stablecoin. That was launched in September 2018. Just one year later in September 2019 Paxos launched Paxos Gold (PAXG) a fully-collateralized digital asset that represents one fine troy ounce of a London Good Delivery gold bar.These bars are securely stored in professional vaults, and anyone who owns PAXG has rights to a corresponding amount of the physical gold. Because PAXG is a direct representation of physical gold its value is also tied to the actual price of gold in real-time on the spot markets.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PaxosGoldBenefits-1.jpg" alt="Paxos Gold Benefits"><figcaption>Look at all the benefits to digital gold. Image via Paxos.com&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>By using Paxos Gold users get the benefit of physical gold ownership, without the downsides of storage and transport. Instead they can take advantage of the mobility and speed of transfer that comes with digital assets. The PAXG tokens have been made extremely flexible, and users are able to convert tokens to fiat currency quickly and easily, or they can opt to convert the tokens to allocated and unallocated gold if they wish, just as quickly and easily. Unlike the futures gold market, Paxos Gold digital tokens carry no settlement risk.<h2>Allocated Gold Vs. Unallocated Gold</h2>We’ve mentioned allocated gold and unallocated gold several times in this piece so I thought it would make sense to take a moment to explain what these concepts refer to in gold trading.From an ownership perspective it is probably best to have actual physical possession of any gold you buy. That way you know it is yours and where it is located at all times. You can touch it, move it about, and sell it as you like. But gold is bulky, and storing it yourself carries the risk of theft.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/BrinksGoldStorage.jpg" alt="Brin"><figcaption>Allocated gold in storage. Image via <a href="https://goldiraguide.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Goldiraguide.org</a>&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Because of the issues tied to the physical storage of gold most investors are glad to pay someone else to store their gold, and they do this through either allocated or unallocated accounts.In an allocated account the firm you purchase the gold from will use your investment to buy and store physical gold. The buyer is still legally the owner of this gold. This is the method Paxos uses in backing the Paxos Gold token.Unallocated gold is different in that the company you purchase the gold from doesn’t use your money to buy physical gold. Instead they often use the capital for other investments, but they do promise to deliver gold to you if you request that, or to return fiat currency to you when you’re ready to sell. Unallocated accounts are typically less expensive in terms of fees because they aren’t paying for the transport or storage of physical gold.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/AllocatedVersusUnallocatedGold.jpg" alt="Allocated vs. Unallocated Gold"><figcaption>The difference is clear. Image via <a href="https://youtube.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Youtube.com</a>&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>The downside is that unallocated gold is more risky as an investment. If your gold provider goes bankrupt there’s no gold waiting to be delivered to you. All you’ll have is an IOU for the gold or equivalent cash, and you’ll be lucky to ever see either.When you purchase allocated gold, or Paxos Gold tokens, you are the legal owner of the gold, and the company is holding your gold for you in a secure location. Even if the company goes bankrupt you’ll be able to claim your gold. This makes allocated gold safer than either unallocated gold or even physically owning the gold yourself.<h2>Where to buy Paxos Gold</h2>When Paxos Gold was first launched the only place to purchase PAXG tokens was through the portal on the Paxos website by creating an account, or through the itBit exchange that is owned by Paxos. Since that time Paxos Gold has grown tremendously, and it is now the 122nd largest altcoin by market cap, with a market cap of over $76 million and daily trading volumes well in excess of $1 million.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PAXGCoinmarketcap.jpg" alt="PAXG Coinmarketcap.com Stats"><figcaption>PAXG as seen on <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coinmarketcap.com</a>&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Because of that growth you can now purchase PAXG on a number of exchanges, including Swissborg, Kraken, HitBTC, <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/binance/">Binance</a>, and BitZ. You can also purchase tokens and PAXG futures at the FTX exchange.<h2>Earning with Paxos Gold</h2>With decentralized finance growing so rapidly Paxos Gold now gives gold investors the opportunity to do something they could never do with physical gold – earn interest. Gold as an asset has long been considered a yield-less asset class, which is why it is so sensitive to interest rate changes. With Paxos Gold it is now possible to earn interest on gold holdings.There are already several DeFi platforms that will pay interest on your PAXG holdings. One of the first was Nexo, a leading regulated financial institution for digital assets. Nexo purchased $5 million worth of PAXG just after the token was launched, and has been offering lending and interest payments on saved PAXG since.As of December 2020 users can deposit PAXG at <a href="https://nexo.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nexo.io</a> and earn up to 8% APY. They also allow PAXG holders to use the tokens as collateral for a line of credit. For each 0.7818 PAXG users are able to borrow $1,000.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/NexoPaxosGold.jpg" alt="Nexo Paxos Gold Deposit"><figcaption>Deposit your digital gold to earn interest. Image via Nexo.io&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Another option for earning with Paxos Gold is with Crypto.com. This platform is offering up to 6.5% APY on deposited PAXG. In addition, Crypto.com offers a debit card that can be loaded with U.S. dollars converted from the PAXG held with them. That might be the easiest way to spend gold you’ll find.A third option for earning interest with your PAXG is through BlockFi, where you’ll earn 5% APY on deposited tokens. BlockFi also offers loans based on PAXG as collateral. For every $1,000 borrowed, the user needs to deposit 1.09 PAXG as collateral.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@coinbureau" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2021/09/TikTok_inline.jpg" alt="Tik Tok Inline"></a>&nbsp;<h2>The Future of PAXG</h2>In the beginning of November 2020 Paxos announced that they would be integrating with payments provider Paypal to offer cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency payments to the payment providers clients. So far Paxos Gold is not in the list of supported coins, but Paxos founder and CEO Charles Cascarilla has hinted that PAXG could be supported in the future.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/12/PaxosPaypalCollab.jpg" alt="Paxos &amp; PayPal"><figcaption>Paxos and Paypal have joined forces. Image via Paxos.com&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Paypal has a user base of over 300 million people worldwide, and giving them access to digital gold could create an explosion in demand for Paxos Gold. Cascarilla said in a talk last month that by mid-2022 there could be hundreds of million, or potentially billions of people around the world with access to Paxos version of digital gold.He didn’t specifically mention Paxos’ integration with Paypal, but that would almost have to be part of the massive growth for the PAXG token that’s being projected by Cascarilla.<h2>Conclusion</h2>Digital gold is an idea that makes a lot of sense. It avoids the problems that have been associated with purchasing, holding, and trading physical gold. It even creates the opportunity to generate interest on what has always been a yield-less asset. With Paxos Gold the team at Paxos have created a digital asset for the future.So far only $75 million in gold has been digitized by Paxos, but gold is said to be a $7.3 trillion market. That leaves massive room for growth in the space.The real hurdle at this point is blockchain adoption. Once people become more comfortable using blockchain assets in general it will be a logical leap for them to use digital gold rather than physical gold. After all, digital gold is far more portable, liquid, convenient, and it can even be used to generate interest payments.The integration with Paypal should give Paxos a boost, and could significantly advance the movement towards digital assets being used by everyday people for all sorts of purposes – including investing in gold.

Pax Gold Review|Gold Nugget|Paxos Logo|Why Pax Gol

PaxosGoldReview|GoldNugget|PaxosLogo|WhyPaxGold|Pa

Paxos Gold Review: Tokenized Gold Issued on Ethereum

Paxful is one of the leading online peer-to-peer marketplaces that connects <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/what-is-bitcoin/">Bitcoin</a> buyers and sellers. The platform was established all the way back in 2015, making it one of the most well established methods to buy or sell Bitcoin.The big question is whether Paxful is worth using.In this review, we will attempt to answer just that. I’ll also give you some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of Paxful.<h2>Paxful Overview</h2>Paxful has been around since 2015 and now employs over 200 people with offices based in New York, Hong Kong, Tallinn (Estonia) and Manila. Like Ebay, the platform has two sides to it.One empowers normal people like you and me to become merchants by creating your own listings and to sell Bitcoin online. The other side enables Bitcoin buyers to choose the offer they are interested in and to buy Bitcoin with over 300 payment methods.So, what is the value of Paxful and why would you use it over a traditional exchange like Coinbase? Well, if you have been in crypto for a while, you will know that many exchanges have a huge number of blocked countries and a very limited number of payment options.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/PaxfulIntro.jpg" alt="P2P Bitcoin Trading"><figcaption>Peer to Peer Crypto Trading With Paxful</figcaption></figure>Indeed, most crypto exchanges are commonly restricted to payment options like debit card, bank account or wire transfers. That means if you don’t have access to these payment methods or you want to use other payment options, you are going to have a hard time trying to buy Bitcoin.This is where Paxful comes in by offering some truly crazy options like gift cards for World of Warcraft and Amazon, cash in the mail or even phone top-up cards! Over 100 e-wallets are also supported, including the <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/buy-bitcoin-with-paypal/">likes of PayPal</a> and WechatPay.Yes, plain vanilla bank transfers are also supported. However, where Paxful stands apart from the crowd is by offering the ability to buy Bitcoin with the most exotic payment methods out there.<h2>Buy BTC With PayPal &amp; 300+ Other Methods</h2>300+ plus methods to buy Bitcoin sounds mind-boggling. So, how exactly can you buy Bitcoin on Paxful?<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/paxfulOverview.jpg" alt="Paxful Payment Methods"><figcaption>Payment Methods on Paxful</figcaption></figure><ol><li>Bank Transfer: There are five different bank transfer options available.</li><li>Online Wallets: Buy Bitcoin using 137 different online wallets. These includes the likes of Alipay, PayPal, ApplePay, Skrill, Neteller and more.</li><li>Gift Cards: Get your BTC using 117 different gift cards. Trade in those unwanted Christmas giftcards for the real gift of Bitcoin. A massive range of giftcards are supported such as Starbucks, Amazon iTunes, to high street stores like H &amp; M to mobile top up cards.</li><li>Cash Payments: 17 cash payment options are supported by Paxful. This includes Wesern Money Union, MoneyGram or even cash deposits at banks.</li><li>Debit &amp; Credit Cards: Yes, card payments may seem standard. However, twenty different card payment options are supported and this includes American Express. So, if you want to earn AmEx points whilst buying Bitcin, you can do just that.</li><li>Crypto: Buy Bitcoin on Paxful using any of the supported 26 cryptocurrencies.</li><li>Assets: Finally, you can trade assets or goods for Bitcoin. This could be anything from your house to that bar of gold you have hidden down the side of your sofa.</li></ol>You should now get the point. Paxful simply offers the widest range of methods to buy Bitcoin out there.<h2>Is Paxful Safe?</h2>Paxful is trusted by over three million users around the globe and has an excellent reputation. However, one of the things to be aware of is that, because Paxful is a marketplace, the Bitcoin seller’s integrity should not be confused with the integrity of Paxful.Paxful simply offers the marketplace; it is possible that there will be some bad actors using that platform. It’s a bit like how there can be some bad people using platforms like eBay. It does not necessarily mean that eBay is a scam.With that fearmongering out of the way, here are a few tip and tricks to keep you safe whilst using Paxful:Seller ReputationPay attention to the sellers reputation and put that above the exchange rate you are offered. Put simply, the more happy customers a seller has, the more thumbs up they have.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/PaxfulBuy.jpg" alt="Seller Reputation Strong"><figcaption>Make Sure Seller Reputation is Strong</figcaption></figure>You can also click into the seller’s profile to see what past buyers had to say about them. If you see a few people complaining about the Bitcoin seller, then it is best to avoid them. However, if you see pages of happy Bitcoin buyers and little, if any, negative feedback then the chances are you are looking at a top notch Bitcoin seller.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/paxfulSearch.jpg" alt="Seller Feedback Paxful"><figcaption>Checking Feedback of Sellers</figcaption></figure>Remain on PaxfulMake sure you keep all communication on Paxful and under no circumstances move the discussion off platform. The reason why is that if there is a dispute, the Paxful moderators will help you out. If you move things over to Telegram or Whatsapp, then you will miss out on this protection.Check Online StatusAvoid disappointment by making sure that the person you are wanting to trade with is online. Orders will automatically cancel in 15 minutes and if the user is offline then the chances are you’ll be wasting your time.Check Online StatusAvoid disappointment by making sure that the person you are wanting to trade with is online. Orders will automatically cancel in 15 minutes and if the user is offline then the chances are you’ll be wasting your time.Make Sure Payment ReceivedOnly release payments from escrow once you have had your payment fully confirmed. Make sure you don’t release Bitcoin from escrow if the payment is pending.<h2>How to Setup a Paxful Account?</h2>To get started on Paxful simply:👊 Head over to Paxful using the link <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/out/paxfulex">here</a>. You’ll then be taken to Paxful and will then see a ‘create account’ button. Click that little guy.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/paxfulSignup.jpg" alt="Creating Account at Paxful"><figcaption>Create Account at Paxful</figcaption></figure>Enter your email and select a password.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/saveDeetsPaxful.jpg" alt="Signup Paxful"><figcaption>Signing Up at Paxful</figcaption></figure>You will then be sent a verification email with a link. Just smash that ‘verify email’ button.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/congratsPax.jpg" alt="Confirm Registration"><figcaption>Confirming Registration at Paxful</figcaption></figure>Next you will be taken to your account settings page where you can fill in your account particulars. Note that you’ll have to verify your phone number and identity to trade on Paxful.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/PaxfulAccount.jpg" alt="Account Information Paxful"><figcaption>Filling Out Account information</figcaption></figure>Next, click the ‘Verification’ tab and enter your details for your government issued ID.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/PaxfulIDVerification.jpg" alt="Paxful ID Verification"><figcaption>ID Verification at Paxful</figcaption></figure>That’s about it. You should now be good to go to get your Bitcoin on Paxful.<h2>How To Buy Bitcoin On Paxful?</h2>Buying BTC on Paxful is pretty straight forward. Firstly, make sure our on the Paxful homepage, select the payment method you want to use and key in the amount you want to spend and be sure to select the currency of your choice. Then just tap that ‘search for offers’ button.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/BuyingBitcoinPaxful.jpg" alt="Search offers Paxful"><figcaption>Searching for Offers on Paxful</figcaption></figure>You’ll then see all the offers available on the Paxful marketplace which match your search query. Select the seller that you want to buy from by clicking the ‘Buy’ button.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/PayPalPaxful.jpg" alt="Finding Paxful Users"><figcaption>Finding users on Paxful Marketplace</figcaption></figure>Key in the amount of money you want to spend.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/confirmPaxful.jpg" alt="Purchase Amount Paxful"><figcaption>Choosing the purchase amount on Paxful</figcaption></figure>You will then be taken to a chat page where payment instructions will be given.<h2>Escrow with Paxful</h2>Paxful provides a secure escrow service for Bitcoin transactions. Once you have selected a seller you want to use and the offer is accepted by the Bitcoin seller, the Bitcoin are automatically moved into escrow.This means that the seller can no longer cancel the trade and that the buyer has a set amount of time to make the payment. If the payment is made within the timelimit, then the Bitcoin is transferred to the buyer.Sometimes buyers do not execute the trade within the timeframe. If this is the case, then all that happens is that the seller gets their Bitcoijn returned to their wallet.In the case the transaction is confirmed by both the buyer and the seller, then the swap is completed. Also, you should know you can open up a dispute if you feel there is something wrong and this will be looked at by Paxful, who will act as the moderator and award the bitcoin to whoever is in the right.<h2>Paxful Fees</h2>The first thing to know here is that Bitcoin buyers on Paxful do not pay any fees at all. Instead, fees are charged to Bitcoin sellers.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/escrowPaxful.jpg" alt="Paxful Fees"><figcaption>Fees on Paxful. Image via Shutterstock</figcaption></figure><ul><li>Bank Transfers: 0.5%</li><li>Credit/Debit Cards: 1%</li><li>Crypto: 1%</li><li>Online Wallets: 1%</li><li>Cash: 1%</li><li>Gift Cards: 3% or 5% for iTune and Google Play.</li></ul><h2>Buying Limits on Paxful</h2>The platform has four different verifcation levels and each one opens up different buying limits:<ul><li>Level 1: Is gained by email and phone verification | Limit $1.5K.</li><li>Level 2: ID verification + level 1 requirements | Limit $10K.</li><li>Level 3: Address verification + level 2 requirements | Limit $10K per trade.</li><li>Level 4: Enhanced due diligence + level 3 requirements | No limits.</li></ul><h2>Paxful &amp; Crypto Adoption</h2>Paxful may just seem to be a marketplace with a staggering number of payment methods. However, a <a href="https://paxful.com/blog/paxful-to-expand-access-to-bitcoin-in-east-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxful press release</a> at the end of 2019 revealed that 45% of Paxful users were based in Africa. That may surprise a lot of you who might have thought most users were based in developed markets.However, it does make sense when you consider that the vast majority of people in Africa are unbanked. The key thing here is that many of these people may still participate in e-commerce thanks to cheap smartphones and increasing access to the internet.The big problem for many is how they are paid for their work if they don’t have a bank account? As many of us will know, the answer is Bitcoin and the incredible thing about Paxful is that this is precisely what seems to be happening on Paxful.Yes, it may seem cool that you can buy bitcoin with gift cards, mobile top up cards or more. However, if you scratch the surface, what this means is that a person without a bank account can go into a store and buy a mobile topup card then use this to buy Bitcoin on Paxful. With almost any other crypto exchange, this sort of person is excluded from buying Bitcoin.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2020/03/zimInflationPAXFUL.jpg" alt="Paxful Adoption"><figcaption>Hyperinflation and Crypto's Store of Value. Image via Shutterstock</figcaption></figure>So, Paxful can really be seen as democratizing crypto and widening access to an ever growing number of people. Yes, we love the idea of using unwanted giftcards to get Bitcoin, but Paxful has far more potential than that.We imagine that many of you would agree that the benefits of bitcoin should not be the preserve of those with access to bank accounts. To drive this point home, Union Bank in the Phillipines will only allow locals to open up an account if they deposit at least 100,000 pesos, which is around $2,000.However, the average monthly income is less than $500. That means that access to banking in the Phillipines is tremendously low, whilst at the same time being home to the largest virtual assistant workforce in the world. Just take a look at OnlineJobs.PH and you’ll see nearly 30,000 Filipinos trying to find work online.Most will end up working for entrepreneurs located throughout the world and these freelancers still need to be paid even though some won’t have a bank account. That’s where peer-to-peer marketplaces like Paxful can help to make Bitcoin more usable as an international transfer of value and help power online business.Another really cool thing about Paxful is that the company is aware that many people in developing countries do not have access to conventional forms of ID. That is why the platform now accepts alternative forms of identification like the Nigerian BVN code, which is a form of biometric ID.<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>In summary, we really like the Paxful peer-to-peer marketplace due to the astonishing range of payment options it supports to buy Bitcoin. In the developed world, the core value proposition is being able to buy BTC with the likes of PayPal, Skrill or converting those giftcards sitting in a sock drawer into Bitcoin.We also think that the marketplace is super easy, simple to use and we love how the platform also offers an intuitive app for iOS and Android to make it easy to send, receive and trade Bitcoin on the go.One key drawback of Paxful is that those looking to use a particularly exotic payment method are unlikely to have many sellers to choose from. We do hope that things improve on this front as more and more people use the marketplace.All that being said, if you’re looking for a no nonsense way to buy Bitcoin with practically any payment method, then you should definitely check out Paxful and see if it is the right option for you. After all, can three million users be wrong?👉 Create a <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/out/paxfulex">Paxful account now</a>!Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.

PaxfulReview

Paxful Review: Complete Exchange Overview

On September 10, 2018, the New York-based blockchain company Paxos announced the release of a new stablecoin called Paxos Standard, (now Pax Dollar) with the ticker symbol USDP.This is a fully USD-collateralized stablecoin that is being released by Paxos Trust Company. It is also regulated and approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services.Within three months of being issued Pax Dollar achieved $5 billion in transactions, and as of 2023, it is the 54th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a market cap of $875 million.<h2>What is Paxos?</h2><a href="https://www.paxos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos</a> describes itself as “the first regulated Trust company with blockchain expertise”, and it is using that expertise to create a modern settlement solution that can eliminate risk and simplify settlements.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2018/10/paxOverview.jpg" alt="Paxos Overview"><figcaption>Paxos Overview. Source: Paxos Website</figcaption></figure>What many people may not know about Paxos is that it was actually founded in 2012 as Paxos Trust Company, and that for most of its life it ran the cryptocurrency exchange itBit, which is still operates. The creation of Paxos was a pivot from an exchange platform to a company focused on creating a modern settlement platform using <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/what-is-blockchain-technology/">blockchain technology</a>.In the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paxos--launches-new-stablecoin-paxos-standard-300709434.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from Paxos, it says that<blockquote>as a Trust company, Paxos is a fiduciary and qualified custodian of customer funds, and can therefore offer greater protections for customer assets than any other existing stablecoin</blockquote>Here are some important facts you should know about the Paxos Standard:<ul><li>It is an ERC-20 token built on the <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/what-is-ethereum/">Ethereum blockchain</a>;</li><li>After registering and becoming verified, users can purchase and redeem PAX tokens directly at <a href="https://www.paxos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos.com</a> on a 1:1 basis with the U.S. dollar;</li><li>Paxos tokens only remain in circulation as long as there are corresponding U.S. dollars being held in reserve. When PAX are redeemed for USD the tokens are immediately burned, or destroyed;</li><li>When trading on the itBit platform that is also owned by Paxos, investors will be able to withdraw other digital assets to PAX instantaneously and without fees;</li><li>Paxos Standard will trade under the ticker symbol PAX, and while it remains a utility token it will also be available on other exchange platforms;</li><li>Because Paxos Standard was created as an ERC-20 token it can be stored in any ERC-20 compatible wallet;</li><li>The PAX smart contract has been audited by Nomic Labs, a respected <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/ethereum-smart-contracts/">smart contract</a> auditor, and the account reserves will be audited by Withum, a nationally top-ranking auditing firm.</li></ul><h2>Paxos Adoption</h2>Paxos has become a widely adopted cryptocurrency, with support from over 20 exchanges and OTC desks in the first five weeks of its existence.It’s been picked up and listed by six of the top ten cryptocurrency exchanges, <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/binance/">Binance</a>, <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/okx/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OKX</a>, Gate.io, ZB, <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/kucoin-exchange/">KuCoin</a> and DigiFinex. And additional exchanges have plans to list PAX very soon, including OKCoin. These exchanges are offering PAX as an alternative to the controversial <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/education/what-is-tether-usdt/">Tether (USDT)</a>.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2018/10/paxListedOn.jpg" alt="Exchanges Listed Paxos"><figcaption>Exchanges That have Listed Paxos. Source: <a href="https://www.paxos.com/standard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos Standard</a></figcaption></figure>Additionally, numerous Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading and market-making firms including SFOX, XBTO, Cumberland, Hudson River Trading, Galaxy Digital, FBG Capital, Two Rivers, OSL, DV Chain and QCP Capital are ready to support large trades from sophisticated investors.Because PAX offers immediate settlement and verified reserves, it has rapidly become a trusted stablecoin among traders.The rapid institutional adoption of the token shows how strong demand is for a regulated stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars, that can be trusted by traders. In the five weeks since its launch Paxos has already issued $50 million in PAX, and the demand has shown no signs of slowing.However, even with all the news surrounding Paxos new stablecoin, Paxos is not just a USD-pegged cryptocurrency. Instead it is primarily a platform for payments.With that being the case, what are the prospects for the future development of Paxos? And do we really need another stablecoin?<h2>Paxos History</h2>Remember that Paxos is not a new project. It has long existed and been known as a family of protocols that are designed to resolve consensus issues in a network of unreliable processors.Paxos Trust Company has been registered in New York since 2012, and has long offered the cryptocurrency exchange itBit prior to morphing into a blockchain platform for settlements in 2018 and offering a stablecoin.<h2>Paxos Team</h2>Unlike the controversy surrounding the people who control Tether, there is no such obscurity when it comes to the people behind Paxos. The CEO and co-founder is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescascarilla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles Cascarilla</a>.He has over 15 years in financial services and has co-founded Cedar Hill asset management back in 2005. He has also worked and Bank of America and Goldman Sachs prior to that.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2018/10/paxosTeam.jpg" alt="Paxos"><figcaption>Paxos Team. From Left: Charles Cascarilla (CEO), Andrew Chang (COO), Rachel Nelson (Compliance), Rajesh Nair (Engineering)</figcaption></figure>Joining him in the top team is Andrew Chang as the COO. He has over a decade of experience at a number of other technology companies and is a partner at Liberty city ventures.Prior to Paxos he worked at Google in business development for their display products. The rest of the managerial team is similarly experienced with numerous industry veterans.Another really compelling pitch behind Paxos is the advisors that they have through their board of directors. You can see the full list <a href="https://www.paxos.com/board-of-directors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> but these include Sheila Bair, the former head of the FDIC and Bill Bradley who is a former senator from New Jersey who served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.<h2>The Paxos Platform</h2>Paxos has created a platform that combines distributed ledger technology with its status as a regulated trust in order to minimize settlement risk.Paxos representatives characterize their platform using the formula:<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2018/10/whatIsPAX.jpg" alt="Paxos Forumla"><figcaption>Source: Paxos Website</figcaption></figure>The rationale behind building such a platform is explained simply. By having a regulated trust, Paxos is legally able to transfer assets and monies. By combining that permission with blockchain technology those transactions can be done rapidly, securely, and without risk. This combination can be integrated into business and finance to solve the long standing problem of settlement risk.Paxos made the decision to create its platform without a native blockchain, and has based itself on the Ethereum blockchain instead. As far as I can tell based on information from the company website, there are no current plans to transition from Ethereum to its own mainnet.<h2>Paxos Use Cases</h2>In looking at the working documents of Paxos and their <a href="https://standard.paxos.com/whitepaper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whitepaper</a> we can see that the project is looking to solve the following problems:<ol><li>The rapid transfer of currencies as well as the immediate exchange of physical assets into digital assets. The goal of this is to minimize counterfeiting risks.</li><li>Reduce or completely eliminate operating costs in trade operations.</li><li>Minimization of commission and fees in connection with the transfer of funds.</li></ol><h2>The PAX Token</h2>The Paxos Dollar (USDP) is the first digital asset to be issued by a financial institution and to be fully secured by the U.S. dollar. While other similar stablecoins have existed, there has been no proof of full U.S. dollar reserves, nor have these earlier assets been issued by a financial institution. The Paxos team has been fairly clear in declaring the different base that PAX is working from.In theory, 1 PAX will always be equal to 1 USD. It’s too early to see how well this holds up in reality, but given the strict auditing and destruction of tokens exchanged for USD it seems realistic.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2018/10/paxTokenUseCases.jpg" alt="PAX Token Benefits"><figcaption>Benefits of the PAX token. Source: Paxos Website</figcaption></figure>The PAX token is an ERC-20 token, and while it was initially released on the fairly unpopular itBit cryptocurrency exchange, it was rapidly adopted by a number of other exchanges, including the top 3 global cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, OKX and ZB.com.Some have questioned whether another stablecoin is necessary in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and the Paxos team has addressed the question by highlighting the following features of PAX:<ul><li>PAX allows user to convert digital assets to fiat currencies with no fees;</li><li>Because of the peg to the USD there is very little volatility associated with PAX;</li><li>Assets can be rapidly converted from physical to digital and vice versa very rapidly;</li><li>Each PAX token is backed by the U.S. dollar, which is held in accounts in major U.S. banks and is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).</li></ul>In practice, PAX is not so different from other cryptocurrencies, and this is especially true when compared to other stablecoins such as Tether, <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/review/trusttoken/">TrueUSD</a>, and Gemini dollars.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2019/11/PAXUseCases.jpg" alt="PAX Token Use Cases"><figcaption>PAX Token Use Cases. Image via <a href="https://www.paxos.com/pax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos Website</a></figcaption></figure>One difference is the use as a utility coin, with PAX being primarily for use on the Paxos platforms. It was never created as a tradable asset, but certainly can (and already is) be traded on third-party exchanges.It remains to be seen if PAX will become more popular than Tether, which has never enjoyed great trust from cryptocurrency users, but has a great head start as the very first stablecoin.Since its release, PAX hasn’t even come close to the popularity of Tether, and one reason is likely the relative volatility of a stablecoin that is supposed to remain pegged at $1. PAX hasn’t been able to hold that level for most of its existence, and while it has seen good adoption, the varience from its peg has likely held it back from greater adoption.<h2>Paxos Gold-backed Cryptocurrency</h2>Most recently Paxos announced on September 4, 2019 they are releasing PAX Gold (PAXG), a product that will allow people to buy a digital asset backed by one troy-ounce of gold held in vaults located in London. It is the very first cryptocurrency backed by gold.Paxos claims that ownership of the token confers ownership of the actual physical gold, and will provide users with the serial number of the gold bar in the London vault. The PAX Gold tokens will also be available in amounts as small as 0.01 PAXG, meaning investors can get exposure to extremely small amounts of gold easily.The PAXG token is available on the itBit exchange which is also owned by Paxos, and can also be bought directly from Paxos by creating an account at their website.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2019/11/PAXGoldCompared.jpg" alt="PAX GOLD Benefits"><figcaption>The PAX Gold token compared to other options. Image via <a href="https://www.paxos.com/paxgold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PAX GOLD</a></figcaption></figure>As of 2023, the circulating supply of PAXG is 271,239, which is the total supply of PAXG available at the moment.PAXG is an ERC-20 token, just as PAX is, making it flexible and able to be used wherever ERC-20 tokens are supported.Paxos claims the PXG token is preferable to physical gold because it will have lower holding costs, and holders of PAXG tokens will find them to be more flexible than the physical gold it represents.<h2>The Binance BUSD Stablecoin</h2>Just two weeks after announcing the release of the very first gold-backed cryptocurrency Paxos announced the release of the Binance USD (BUSD), a stablecoin for use primarily on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.Binance chose to work with Paxos on the new stablecoin because they feel a stablecoin approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services, ensuring the utmost of consumer protections, will help them provide on-chain financial solutions for users across the world.<figure class="image"><img src="https://img.coinbureau.dev/strapi/2019/11/BUSDPaxos.jpg" alt="BUSD Paxos"><figcaption>How to Use the BUSD Tokens. Image via <a href="https://www.paxos.com/busd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paxos BUSD</a></figcaption></figure>In the two months since the BUSD was released, it has grown to a market capitalization of $18 million and is the 173rd largest cryptocurrency by market cap. That leaves it far behind its sibling PAX, however, PAX has had an additional year of growth.<h2>Conclusion</h2>Even though the Paxos Trust has been active in the financial services industry for six years, the new Paxos platform that is tied to blockchain technology is very new. This makes it difficult to say how successful it will be over time, although it does seem to have a solid value proposition. As of 2023, the token is holding up well, remaining the 54th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.Even though PAX is intended primarily for use on the Paxos platform and has been picked up by many dominant exchanges, there seems to be a very slim chance that it will replace Tether as the most <a href="https://{MIGRATED_DOMAIN}/analysis/best-stablecoins/">popular stablecoin</a>. The stablecoin competition is fierce, not only due to the dominant Tether (USDT), but also the <a href="https://coingape.com/price/usd-coin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USD-collateralized stablecoin</a> USDC, which is quickly becoming a prominent player, has also surpassed USDP in market cap.The Paxos team has been very vocal and positive regarding their project and the PAX token, and this is to be expected, but in reality, the PAX token offers little that is innovative in the blockchain space.Its real strength lies in the full USD backing and the backing of traditional financial institutions. That alone has been enough to keep it from getting lost among other projects, especially given the auditing and additional trust it will gain versus competing stablecoins.Now the team has taken on a new realm with the release of the first gold-backed cryptocurrency. This Paxos Gold is off to a fairly slow start, raising just $5.7 million more than two months after its release. Whether or not a gold-backed cryptocurrency will catch on remains questionable, but if it does Paxos has the first mover advantage.Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.