Metals.io puts 25 tonnes of Hamburg-stored copper on the blockchain - eGamers.io

The Hamburg-based batch represents a modest entry into the market, with its total value at launch estimated at approximately $366,000. This small-scale launch follows Metals.io's existing offerings of uranium, gold, cobalt, and nickel tokens, positioning the company at the forefront of blockchain-based commodity investments.

Strategic small launch

The company deliberately started small to test market waters and build sustainably, according to Ben Elvidge, who heads both Metals.io and Trilitech, the London-based Tezos development company that built the platform. "We'd like to reach the millions of dollars, but we're deliberately starting small to test the water and build sustainably," Elvidge stated.

Physical copper claims

Unlike some competitors, Metals.io's tokens represent already-mined and refined copper stored in Hamburg. "An xCu holder owns a portion of branded copper cathodes located in Hamburg, Germany," Elvidge explained. "This is real, physical, refined copper, not unmined copper or concentrate still in the ground."

Token holders can exchange their digital assets for physical copper, but must pass identity and anti-money laundering checks. The minimum redemption requirement is 125 kilograms, meaning smaller holdings cannot be physically delivered. Archax, a regulated digital asset platform, verifies that the stored copper matches the token supply.

Growing market potential

The copper tokens join Metals.io's existing metal-backed digital assets, with uranium leading at $9.2 million market cap and gold following at $4.1 million. The company anticipates growing demand driven by electric vehicles, power grids, and AI data centers, with S&P Global projecting global copper demand could climb 50% by 2040.