Metals.io Introduces Digital Tokens Tied to 25 Tonnes of Physical Copper

Metals.io has introduced a new copper-backed token offering, with 25 tonnes of refined metal held in a warehouse in Hamburg, Germany, supporting the initial supply. The launch represents an investment of roughly $366,000 and marks the company’s latest effort to bring physical commodities onto blockchain networks.

The platform has issued 25,000 digital tokens known as xCu, each corresponding to one kilogram of physical copper. Metals.io intends to start with a limited supply, assess market demand and gradually expand the offering to millions of dollars worth of copper over the next 12 months.

“We’d like to reach the millions of dollars, but we’re deliberately starting small to test the water and build sustainably,” said Ben Elvidge, head of alternative assets at Trilitech, the London-based Tezos development firm responsible for Metals.io’s trading platform and technical systems. Elvidge also heads the Metals.io business.

The copper launch builds on the company’s existing range of tokenized assets, which includes uranium, gold, cobalt and nickel. Unlike mining stocks or futures-based investments, xCu is directly backed by refined copper that is already in storage. Elvidge said investors can purchase and trade the tokens at any time, without a minimum investment requirement.

The move comes amid expectations that copper consumption will increase as countries expand electricity infrastructure and demand grows from electric vehicles and AI data centers. S&P Global projects that global copper demand could rise by 50% by 2040.

Elvidge said each xCu token represents partial ownership of branded copper cathodes stored in Hamburg. He clarified that the underlying asset consists of physical, refined copper rather than unextracted resources or mineral concentrate.

Token holders can seek redemption in physical copper, subject to meeting storage requirements and completing identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) checks. However, the minimum quantity available for physical redemption is around 125 kilograms, equivalent to one sheet of refined copper.

Archax, a regulated digital asset platform based in the U.K. and active in the U.S., European Union and United Arab Emirates, serves as the offering’s trustee. It also checks that the quantity of copper held in storage aligns with the number of tokens issued and circulating in the market.

Metals.io has five other tokenized metals products available for trading. Uranium leads the group with a market capitalization of approximately $9.2 million, followed by gold at about $4.1 million. The initial copper offering is already valued higher than the combined market capitalization of the company’s nickel, cobalt and rare-earth products.

Tokenized physical commodities have already gained traction in the gold sector through offerings such as Tether’s XAUT and Paxos’ PAXG. Copper, however, remains a comparatively small market for blockchain-based investment products.

The project also has a different structure from Bridgetower’s proposed $11 billion copper-gold tokenization initiative in Arizona. That project involves mineral resources that have not yet been extracted, while Metals.io’s xCu tokens are backed by refined copper already stored in Germany.

Elvidge said the company will determine the size of subsequent issuances based on investor demand.