PAXG Goes Live on Base, Gains Coinbase Borrow Collateral Role

PAXG, the gold-backed token issued by Paxos, is now live on Base, according to an announcement from the network's official base account on Nov. 6. The rollout extends the token to Coinbase's Layer 2 and makes it usable as collateral through Coinbase Borrow.

The listing places a regulated real-world asset directly into Base's DeFi ecosystem. PAXG is issued by Paxos Trust Company and has been used in crypto markets as a tokenized claim on allocated physical gold, giving holders exposure to the metal without leaving onchain infrastructure.

Why collateral matters

Using PAXG as collateral through Coinbase Borrow is the more consequential part of the announcement. It means holders can borrow against gold-backed balances rather than selling the token, a structure that has historically been limited to stablecoins and major crypto assets on centralized lending desks. Paxos framing the launch around "regulated gold" signals an institutional-oriented pitch rather than a purely retail one.

Paxos operates through multiple regulated entities and holds a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, granted in 2015, as well as national trust oversight through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

What to watch

The immediate question is liquidity: how deep PAXG markets become on Base and at what collateral ratios Coinbase Borrow accepts the asset. Broader issuance of gold-backed tokens has picked up as venues compete to list real-world assets, and Base is now among the networks carrying a Paxos-issued one.