A company that previously brought uranium, gold, cobalt, and nickel on-chain is now rolling out a trial involving 25 tonnes of copper held within a facility located in Hamburg, Germany.
Metals.io introduced 25,000 copper tokens, designated as xCu, where each individual unit represents one kilogram of refined metal. This initial offering totals approximately $366,000, representing a cautious entry for a firm aiming to scale its copper tokenization volume into the millions over the coming year.
Ben Elvidge, head of alternative assets at Trilitech—the London-based Tezos development organization supporting the technical framework and marketplace for Metals.io—noted that they intend to scale significantly while currently testing the market conservatively to ensure sustainable growth.
Contrary to purchasing shares in mining enterprises or trading futures contracts, xCu provides purchasers with actual title to stored physical copper. Elvidge explained that these digital assets allow continuous trading without requiring a minimum investment threshold.
Consumption of copper is anticipated to surge alongside the growth of electrical grids, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence data facilities. S&P Global estimates that worldwide demand could climb by 50% approaching the year 2040.
Elvidge added that an owner of xCu holds a rightful share of certified copper cathodes stationed in Hamburg, Germany, emphasizing that this constitutes tangible, fully processed metal rather than unextracted ore or raw concentrate.
Participants possess the option to exchange their digital tokens for tangible copper, provided they maintain an appropriate storage facility and successfully complete identity verification alongside anti-money laundering evaluations.
Because every single sheet of processed copper comes in at roughly 125 kilograms, that specific weight serves as the lowest threshold required for physical collection, according to Elvidge.
Archax, a supervised digital asset marketplace operating out of the United Kingdom with footprints across the United States, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates, functions as the custodian to verify that the physical inventory aligns precisely with tokens in circulation.
The organization already manages five additional tokenized metal offerings active on its platform.
Uranium stands at the forefront with a valuation near $9.2 million, trailed by gold at $4.1 million. Meanwhile, the starting capitalization for copper already surpasses the collective worth of the nickel, cobalt, and rare-earth offerings combined.
Token-backed metals are nothing entirely novel. Tether’s XAUT alongside Paxos’ PAXG already deliver tokens tied to physical gold reserves, whereas copper represents a substantially less crowded sector for blockchain-native financial instruments.
This release also contrasts with Bridgetower’s $11 billion Arizona copper-gold tokenization initiative, which centers on mineral deposits that remain unmined.
Elvidge pointed out that subsequent offerings by Metals will hinge directly on the level of interest observed across the investor base.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/11/02/metals-io-issues-tokens-backed-by-25-tonnes-of-physical-copper-stored-in-germany.
