The Tezos blockchain ecosystem has significantly expanded its real-world asset (RWA) footprint with the official launch of Metals.io, a new platform enabling investment and trading in tokenized commodities. Developed by Trilitech, the London-based Tezos R&D hub, the web application provides access to precious metals, base metals, and rare earth elements critical for technology manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
The platform leverages Tezos' smart-rollup technology, which guarantees transaction latency below 50 milliseconds, offering users near-instant confirmations. From day one, Metals.io offers three tokenized assets: xU3O8 (a uranium token), VNX Gold (VNXAU) representing ownership of physical gold held in vaults in Liechtenstein, and the RARE token by Noemon Tech, which provides exposure to a basket of five strategic metals: hafnium, rhenium, indium, neodymium oxide, and praseodymium oxide.
The launch responds to strong investor demand driven by global factors, including the creation of a strategic reserve of critical minerals by the U.S. government and supply chain pressures from the rapid expansion of the AI sector. "The Trilitech team developed an incredible access pathway for these assets, and Metals.io is a great example of how the future of RWA investment is being built on Tezos," said Dimitrios Kavvathas, founder of Noemon Tech Ltd.
Metals.io replicates the successful model of uranium.io, launched in December 2024 on Tezos' EVM interface, Etherlink, which won the Best New Product award at the 2024 Benzinga Global Fintech Awards. Tezos co-founder Arthur Breitman emphasized the platform's role in streamlining historically fragmented markets, stating tokenization helps "streamline the ownership and transfer of these assets at a global scale."
