PAX Gold (PAXG) Leads Weekly Gains Among Top Coins

As the market suffers from FTX’s liquidity crisis, PAX Gold (PAXG), a commodity-backed crypto, continues to lead weekly gains. The 65th largest crypto by market cap was seen keeping a week-on-week gain of 5.26% and an intraday gain of 1.12%. Based on current market movement, PAX Gold is the week’s highest gainer. In fact, no other altcoin could boast of any gains, as the entire board was painted red.

Notably, PAX Gold has received many mentions on social media within the last few days. The catalyst is also tied to the FTX case, as the embattled exchange holds some amount of the token. Plus, PAXG’s parent company Paxos looks to expand its workforce in Singapore after bagging an operating license.

PAXG, Others Part Of FTX’s Holdings

As FTX faces insolvency, recent data of its current Ethereum wallet holdings shows it holds part of its wealth in PAXG. FTX’s wallet holdings have dropped in the previous week due to liquidity concerns, illegitimate loans, client withdrawals, and a market downturn. Ethereum-based token data on Dune Analytics display the present condition of wallet holdings owned by the company. This data pertains to a list that was originally prepared by The Block.

This report claims that among FTX’s holdings is $61 million worth of Paxos gold (PAXG). It also held $69 million worth of USD coin (USDC) and $50 million worth of DAI, a decentralized stablecoin. Furthermore, there are more than $40 million worth of ether (ETH) and staked ether (stETH) in its wallet. 

According to 21Shares, a cryptocurrency investment service, the information only represents “the absolute minimum” of the wallet holdings at the moment. This simply means that the data only includes a small portion of the assets owned by the firms.

PAXGUSD

PAXG’s price is currently trading at $1756. | SOurce: PAXGUSD price chart from TradingView.com

Paxos Expands Team Despite Crypto Downturn

Paxos, the company behind PAXG, is expanding its workforce in Singapore by at least 130 workers. Bloomberg reported that the company received a license from Singapore’s central bank to market crypto goods and services.

In an interview, co-founder Rich Teo stated that the company was anticipating a three-year development drive. He mentioned that Singapore would serve as the center of growth for the region outside of the United States. The company has 20 employees in Singapore and 350 employees worldwide at the moment. Paxos stands as one of 20 companies licensed by Singapore’s MAS to conduct digital token operations under the Payment Services Act.

With this recruiting effort in Singapore, Paxos appears to be going against the current digital asset sector as a whole. Recall that many exchanges have been cutting back on staff over the past several months. Since the beginning of April, approximately 11,700 crypto-related jobs have been lost, based on news reports and official statements.

PAXG Price Analysis

PAXG was trading at $1,760 at the time of this writing. Having found numerous support at $1,725, the bulls rallied to push its price to a weekly high of $1,780. 

For the rally to continue, the asset has to break through and close above $1,792. This point is shaping up to be a key resistance level.

Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView.com

War, Inflation, & Geopolitical Tensions Bring Gold-Backed Crypto Tokens To $1B

In the first few months of 2022 macro uncertainty has been felt in the crypto and traditional markets as economic, regulatory, and political scenarios unfold.

Historically, investors see gold as a reliable safe-haven asset they can run to when stocks and bonds decline. It is not surprising for gold prices to have seen a 19-month high as the U.S. and UK decided to ban Russian energy products. It seems that now investors are not only attracted to the metal, but to gold-backed tokens as well.

What Crypto Can Expect From Macro Uncertainty

The macro uncertainty has only increased in 2022, starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, then escalating as the sanctions on Moscow have a direct effect on commodities prices.  Moreover, analysts expect that a rising U.S. inflation will be reflected in the CPI numbers to be published next Thursday.

Arcane Research data noted that CPI is expected to reach 7.9%, and the Federal Reserve might perform the 25 basis point rate hike that chair Jerome Powell said he is inclined to support.

Bloomberg experts, however, project for “February CPI to show an increase of 8.0% year over year and top out in the vicinity of 9% in March or April,” and added that “CPI could rise above 10%” if energy prices continue to rise.

The Fed has also said that they might move more aggressively later on if inflation does not come down. If the market’s expectations on the rate hike do not meet reality, crypto prices could see increased volatility.

As Arcane Research pointed out, the implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war on the surging commodity prices might turn into a hurdle race for central banks trying to bring inflation down.

Related Reading | Gold-Backed Tokens Outperform Crypto Market. Further Upside Coming?

60% Growth For Gold-Backed Tokens

Furthermore, Arcane Research reported massive growth for gold-backed tokens in 2022. The macro uncertainty has led the gold price to rally with an 11% surge in the year as investors look for safety in a hedge against the expected risks.

The gold price rally could be calling the investors’ attention towards the top gold-backed tokens. Their market capitalization recently surpassed $1 billion, a 60% growth in 2022.

As per Investopedia, “Gold-backed digital currencies link one token or coin to a specific quantity of gold (for instance, 1 token equals 1 gram of gold),” and “If the digital currency becomes popular, the price of the coin can actually exceed that value. In this way, gold-pegged digital currencies offer protection against the bottom dropping out of a digital currency’s value.”

The top gold-backed tokens to consider are PAX Gold and Tether Gold. Indicated in the chart below, Tether Gold has seen little growth during the year, and as a consequence, PAX Gold overtook its position in the market cap after it saw a high influx in February.

Source: Arcane Research’s The Weekly Update, Week 9

However, the share of gold-backed tokens in the total crypto market is still around 0.05%, a tiny size compared to the top cryptocurrencies.

What About Bitcoin?

The report also notes that “Bitcoin has underperformed in this uncertain macroclimate, but many investors still view it as an inflation hedge.” Bitcoin price is up 8.93% in the last 24 hours after President Joe Biden announced the executive order on digital assets, which took a benefitial position for the crypto industry.

Related Reading | Battle Of The Hedges: How Gold And Bitcoin Have Performed With Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Bitcoin rallying at $41,923 in the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com