Metals.io issues tokens backed by 25 tonnes of physical copper stored in Germany

The tokens, known as xCu, are backed by 25 tonnes of refined copper stored in a warehouse in Hamburg, Germany. Each token represents one kilogram of the metal, and the initial batch is worth about $366,000.

Metals.io, a platform developed by the London-based Tezos company Trilitech, is testing the market with this small launch. The company hopes to expand the offering to millions of dollars in the coming year, depending on investor demand.

Investors in xCu own a portion of branded copper cathodes located in Hamburg. This is real, physical metal, not unmined copper or concentrate still in the ground.

Trading and redemption

The tokens can be traded around the clock, with no minimum investment required. Holders can redeem their tokens for physical copper, but this process requires a suitable storage account and the passing of identity and anti-money laundering checks.

Each sheet of refined copper weighs approximately 125 kilograms, which is the minimum amount investors can redeem physically. Archax, a regulated digital asset platform based in the U.K., acts as trustee and verifies that the copper held matches the circulating token supply.

Market context

Metals.io already has five other tokenized metals products trading on its platform. Uranium leads with a market capitalization of about $9.2 million, followed by gold at $4.1 million. Copper's initial market value already exceeds the combined value of its nickel, cobalt, and rare-earth products.

Tokenized metals are not new. Tether's XAUT and Paxos' PAXG already offer tokens backed by physical gold, but copper remains a much smaller market for blockchain-based investment products. The launch also differs from Bridgetower's $11 billion Arizona copper-gold tokenization project, which involves mineral resources that have yet to be extracted.