Swiss gold giant MKS PAMP "returns" to compete in the gold tokenization arena.

Author: Zen, PANews

In the current context of global gold accelerating on-chain, there are not many traditional giants that have truly entered the RWA track from the source of gold bars. One of the few is the Swiss precious metals group MKS PAMP: while mastering the complete supply chain from refinery, wholesale trading to branded gold bars, it is also determined to repackage the physical gold in its vault into digital assets that can circulate on the public chain.

Six years ago, it participated in the launch of the early gold token DGLD, but quickly fell silent due to premature timing and an immature market. Now, as the market for gold tokens represented by Tether Gold (XAUT) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) approaches several billion dollars, and the RWA narrative is heating up, MKS PAMP has brought DGLD back to the center stage by acquiring Gold Token SA.

integrated precious metals head player

MKS PAMP Group is a family-owned precious metals group headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with large refineries located in Switzerland and India, and it operates businesses in precious metals trading, minting, supply chain distribution, and online retail.

Among the products under MKS PAMP, the most well-known is undoubtedly the small gold bar featuring the “Lady Fortuna” relief pattern, launched in 1979, becoming the first precious metal brand to decorate the reverse side of its minted gold bars. Today, “Lady Fortuna” is one of the most recognized series in global investment gold bars and is widely regarded as a high-end brand in markets such as Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

In addition, MKS PAMP has been certified by the authoritative institutions of the global over-the-counter precious metals market, LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) and LPPM (London Platinum and Palladium Market), allowing its produced gold bars to be directly used for settlement and delivery in core markets such as London and Zurich. Moreover, PAMP has long been recognized by LBMA as a “Good Delivery Referee”, taking on roles in industry standards, inspection, and arbitration, with only 7 companies worldwide selected for this status.

Therefore, benefiting from the pivotal position of Swiss gold refining in the global supply chain, MKS PAMP not only provides services to large clients such as central banks and mining companies but also targets individual investors through its distribution network and online channels. Overall, it can be regarded as a typical integrated “top player” in the precious metals industry. According to Bloomberg, MKS PAMP's trading business accounts for about 5% of the gold trading volume in the London market, making it a first-tier liquidity provider in this largest gold trading center in the world.

In recent years, the MKS PAMP Group has been continuously expanding, establishing a silver minting facility in an old hangar in Florida in 2024, and this October, setting up a regional headquarters in Hong Kong to seize the opportunities presented by the growing global demand for gold and silver. In addition to physical space expansion and layout, MKS PAMP has also been trying to extend its reach into the world of cryptocurrency.

First attempted gold tokenization six years ago

MKS PAMP first seriously ventured into gold tokenization six years ago.

In October 2019, CoinShares, in collaboration with MKS PAMP and Blockchain.com, launched a gold tokenization product called “DGLD.” Each DGLD is backed by physical gold, with custody and refining managed by PAMP, while the on-chain technology utilizes sidechain/network technology under the Bitcoin ecosystem as the accounting and transfer medium. The goal is to combine the “value stability of gold” with the “security of the Bitcoin network,” providing institutions and high-net-worth clients with a more easily transferable and programmable way to hold gold.

The official promotion at the time emphasized several selling points: there is physical gold backing 1:1, and it is “allocated gold”; the custody is in Switzerland, the gold bars meet LBMA standards, and production and quality control are handled by PAMP; through the cooperative platform, holders can exchange their tokens for physical gold bars or transfer and trade them on supported digital platforms.

From a technical perspective, the first version of DGLD chose Bitcoin-related infrastructure, rather than the nascent Ethereum DeFi ecosystem at that time. This is related to the considerations of the project team: they valued Bitcoin's narrative as a “store of value” and its relatively conservative user base, rather than high-frequency trading and complex contracts.

However, the project soon fell into silence. When reflecting on the product, the project team admitted that the market demand for gold tokens in 2019 was still in its early stages, and both institutional and retail participants were not prepared in terms of understanding, compliance pathways, and infrastructure to support a sufficiently large scale. Overall, MKS PAMP's involvement in the DGLD project was more about concept validation and product testing for gold tokenization.

Acquisition of a cryptocurrency technology company to restart the DGLD project

In November 2025, MKS PAMP announced the complete acquisition of Gold Token SA (GTSA), which is the actual issuer of the DGLD project, established in 2018 in the canton of Geneva. After the acquisition, GTSA will restart the DGLD gold tokenization business as a tokenized entity under MKS PAMP. Learning from past experiences, MKS PAMP has made comprehensive “upgrades” in technology, compliance, and liquidity this time.

First of all, the DGLD token no longer focuses on the relatively niche Bitcoin sidechain ecosystem, but is issued based on mainstream public chains such as Ethereum, adopting standard smart contract protocols, and planning for cross-chain or multi-chain compatibility with other chains. For a gold token “used for collateral, settlement, and liquidity management”, composability and integration costs are often more important than the narrative of the chain itself. Choosing mature networks such as Ethereum clearly aligns better with the current reality of industry infrastructure.

MKS PAMP stated that the newly issued DGLD still corresponds to a certain weight of physical gold and is only sold to certified institutional investors. The focus is to provide institutional investors, family offices, and entities holding large amounts of crypto assets with an “on-chain gold” tool for hedging volatility, using as collateral, or for balance sheet management. Regarding compliance issues, the operating entity Gold Token SA is headquartered in Switzerland and is regulated by the self-regulatory organization VQF under the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

One of the biggest shortcomings in the DGLD project six years ago was insufficient market adoption and liquidity. To address this issue, MKS PAMP plans to provide liquidity for DGLD through its own trading department and partners, while institutions holding DGLD can also sell on secondary cryptocurrency exchanges to avoid a gradual depletion of liquidity like in 2019.

According to Kurt Hemecker, CEO of Gold Token SA, the reboot of DGLD is still in preparation, and it is likely to first unfold in the decentralized field. Kurt himself is also an old player in the crypto industry, having served as the CEO of the lightweight public chain Mina Foundation, as well as the Chief of Staff for the stablecoin Diem (formerly known as Libra) launched by Meta (Chief of Staff). After being acquired and joining MKS PAMP, Kurt will take on the role of Head of Digital Assets for the group.

What advantages does MKS PAMP have compared to existing gold tokens ###?

As people's interest in digital gold continues to grow, there are already various digital gold token solutions on the market, with major players including PAXG issued by Paxos Gold and XAUT launched by Tether Gold.

The PAXG token issued by Paxos Trust corresponds to one troy ounce of LBMA-certified allocated gold. PAXG is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and the custodian company publishes audit reports monthly. Investors can exchange 430 PAXG tokens for LBMA good delivery gold bars (400 troy ounces, approximately 12.5 kg) or withdraw them as USD. PAXG has high transparency and regulatory backing, is relatively active in trading, but has a high entry barrier, and there are certain fees that must be paid during the minting and redemption process.

XAUT is a token launched by Tether Gold in 2020, with each XAUT pegged to 1 ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults. Tether claims that XAUT corresponds to physical gold on a 1:1 basis and provides an online tool to verify the bar numbers. Compared to PAXG, the issuer of XAUT lacks similar traditional financial license regulation, and its disclosure framework and audit standards are relatively more dependent on self-discipline by the issuer. Therefore, in terms of “regulatory endorsement” and transparency, it is not as stringent as PAXG. XAUT usually requires redemption to be done in whole ounces, and sometimes there are miner fees or transaction fees when exchanging.

In contrast, the DGLD by MKS PAMP is issued by the world's top precious metal refineries, with a minimum redemption share as low as 1 gram, making it more flexible compared to the ounce thresholds of PAXG and XAUT. On the other hand, one of the major challenges in operating gold tokenization products is how to cover the vault custody costs. Most products will charge fees during the minting and redemption stages, but in the initial restart phase, MKS PAMP will waive related fees. Future specific fees and launch schedules will still be subject to official terms and announcements.

In addition, MKS PAMP is committed to supporting market-making through its own trading department to enhance liquidity. These features give DGLD a potential advantage in competition. Overall, the current tokenized gold market size is still relatively small, and MKS PAMP, with its strength and experience, may be able to capture a share in this niche market.