Paxos grows 450% in one year: How stablecoins and gold tokens support a $6.8 billion ecosystem

Paxos has achieved remarkable growth over the past year. Total assets surged from $1.2 billion in January 2025 to currently $6.8 billion, an increase of over 450%. This rapid expansion is not accidental but driven by two core assets: PayPal-stabilized PYUSD and gold token PAXG.

Two Major Engines Driving Ecosystem Expansion

The growth of the Paxos ecosystem has a clear structure. According to TokenTerminal data, PYUSD and PAXG contribute the vast majority of the growth.

This data reflects two different market logics behind it.

PYUSD’s PayPal Advantage

PYUSD’s growth is the most prominent, increasing from $500 million to $3.6 billion. This stablecoin is issued by Paxos but endorsed by the PayPal brand, which is its core competitive advantage.

PYUSD currently ranks 31st in the crypto market by market cap, with a daily trading volume of about $112 million. Stablecoins are inherently low-risk assets, but PYUSD’s standout features include:

• The brand effect of PayPal as a global payments giant
• Trust advantages over other stablecoins
• Practicality as a payment tool

Data shows that PYUSD’s growth contributed over 50% of the overall growth momentum, indicating that demand for stablecoins is indeed expanding, and stablecoins backed by large payment institutions are more popular.

PAXG Riding the Wave of Gold Price Rise

The growth logic of PAXG is more straightforward: benefiting from the significant rise in gold prices in 2025. This gold token increased from $500 million to $1.8 billion, a 72% increase.

PAXG’s growth comes from two aspects. First, the increase in newly minted tokens reflects rising demand for gold-tokenized assets. Second, the token price itself has risen, following gold price trends. This indicates that asset tokenization is gaining market recognition.

Gold, as a traditional safe-haven asset, offers a new access point in the crypto market through its tokenized form. The rise in gold prices in 2025 provided natural growth support for PAXG.

Market Significance

Paxos’s rapid growth reflects two important trends in the crypto industry:

• Sustained demand for stablecoins: PYUSD’s performance shows that stablecoins backed by large institutions can indeed gain market favor.
• Bright prospects for asset tokenization: PAXG’s growth proves that blockchain-based tokenization of traditional assets is not just a concept but gradually becoming a reality.

From a personal perspective, Paxos’s success lies in identifying two clear tracks: one is stablecoins as infrastructure, and the other is asset tokenization as an emerging direction. Combining both not only meets current needs but also points toward future development.

Summary

Paxos’s 450% growth over the past year is not an overstatement but built on the real growth of two specific assets. PYUSD gained market share in stablecoins through the endorsement of a payments giant, while PAXG benefited from rising gold prices and the wave of asset tokenization. This structured growth approach is more sustainable than projects relying solely on price appreciation. For the entire industry, this also indicates that stablecoins and asset tokenization are indeed important future tracks.