Metals.io launches xCu copper token backed by 25 tonnes in Hamburg warehouse

Metals.io, the tokenised-commodities venue built by Tezos development company Trilitech, has issued its first batch of xCu copper tokens on November 2, 2026: 25,000 tokens, each backed by one kilogram of refined copper, for a total of 25 tonnes worth about $366,000 at the current spot price. The copper is held as branded cathodes in a Hamburg bonded warehouse. The announcement was carried by CoinDesk and The Armchair Trader.

What launched

Copper is the sixth commodity added to the Metals.io line-up, after uranium, gold, rare earths, cobalt and nickel. The platform itself launched in March 2026; cobalt and nickel followed in June 2026 with an initial seven tonnes of inventory. Each token is a 1:1 claim on refined metal in storage, redeemable subject to AML and identity checks.

Ben Elvidge, head of alternative assets at Trilitech, who also leads Metals.io, said the company is "deliberately starting small to test the water." The $366,000 initial size is well below institutional minima for physical copper trading — Metals.io is pitching the product at retail investors who want direct exposure to refined metal rather than futures or ETFs.

The stack

• Issuer: Metals.io, operated by Trilitech (London).
• Chain: Tezos. Trilitech is the Tezos ecosystem's main development company; it built the trading platform and the token issuance infrastructure.
• Trustee: Archax, the FCA-regulated digital-asset platform. Archax verifies that physical copper in storage matches circulating token supply.
• Custody: Hamburg warehouse, industry-standard bonded storage for refined copper cathodes.
• Redemption: subject to KYC/AML checks.

The specific token contract address and the on-chain standard used were not disclosed in the launch press. CoinDesk's piece does not state which Tezos token standard (FA 1.2, FA 2) carries xCu. Readers wanting to verify issued supply against stored tonnage will need Archax's attestation stream, not a block explorer alone.

Numbers

• Total xCu tokens issued (initial batch): 25,000
• Backing per token: 1 kg refined copper
• Total metal under custody: 25 tonnes
• USD value at launch: ~$366,000
• Chain: Tezos
• Trustee: Archax (UK, FCA-regulated)
• Custody: Hamburg bonded warehouse

Context

Copper RWA on-chain is small today. Most tokenised-commodities issuance volume sits in gold (PAXG, XAUT, XAUM, Tether Gold Reserve); silver and uranium have token programmes measured in low eight-figure sums. Metals.io's own figures put copper at $366,000 of circulating supply — a floor, not a product-market fit claim.

Trilitech's broader bet is that industrial metals — copper, cobalt, nickel, rare earths — benefit from tokenisation more than monetary metals because retail access to physical delivery is unusually restrictive. London Metal Exchange futures lot sizes are 25 tonnes for copper; the whole initial xCu issuance matches a single LME lot. On that read, the launch is less a trading product than a proof-of-plumbing.

The Tezos ecosystem has leaned heavily into RWAs since late 2024, with xtzNews and Trilitech framing it as a differentiator against Ethereum L2s crowded with stablecoin and treasury-fund issuers. Metals.io is the clearest expression of that bet: a vertically integrated platform (chain, trustee, custody, product line) rather than a single-asset token on borrowed infrastructure.

What to watch

1. Whether Archax publishes a live or recurring attestation that redeemable tonnage ≥ circulating supply, and at what cadence.
2. Secondary-market liquidity for xCu on Metals.io's own venue, and whether the token lists on any external DEX or CEX.
3. Which Tezos standard the token uses once the contract address is public — relevant for interoperability with Tezos DeFi venues (Plenty, QuipuSwap).
4. Trilitech's next commodity. S&P Global demand projections for copper (cited in the launch materials) suggest Metals.io is aiming at the electrification narrative; follow-ons in lithium or silver would confirm that read.