Beyond Gold: The Case For Tokenised Commodities

The tokenised commodities market has so far been dominated by gold, the easiest commodity to bring on-chain because of its liquidity, custody infrastructure and wide recognition as a global financial asset. The next opportunity lies in extending that model into markets where traditional access remains narrow, inefficient or largely reserved for specialist institutions. 

Tokenised commodities — digital instruments linked to the raw materials, natural resources and primary inputs that underpin the real economy — remain a small but increasingly visible part of the real-world asset (RWA) market. According to CoinGecko, the sector grew from $1.43 billion at the start of 2025 to $5.5 billion by the end of Q1 2026, briefly peaking at $6.69 billion in February.

So far, that growth has been overwhelmingly led by tokenised gold, with Tether Gold (XAUT) in particular accounting for $1.87 billion of the sector’s expansion during that same quarter.

Gold’s role as a widely recognised store of value, combined with its deep global liquidity, transparent pricing and established custody infrastructure, made it an obvious early candidate for tokenisation.

What Are Tokenised Securities? 

A tokenised security is a digital representation of a legal right, claim or exposure linked to a real-world asset. The token is recorded on a blockchain, which can support issuance, transfer and settlement, while the underlying asset remains off-chain, held by a custodian, governed by a legal structure and subject to applicable regulation.

Notable examples include tokenised equities, US Treasury exposure and other regulated instruments linked to assets in the real world. In each case, the token’s value depends not simply on the fact that it sits on-chain, but on the rights attached to it, the credibility of the issuer and whether holders have a clear legal claim on the asset or exposure it represents.

Commodities are a natural fit for tokenisation because most investors already access them indirectly. In day-to-day commodity markets, relatively few participants take delivery of physical bullion, industrial metals or barrels of oil. Exposure instead tends to run through futures, ETFs, specialist funds and other financial instruments, i.e. claims on the asset rather than the asset itself.

Tokenisation works on a similar principle. The physical commodity can remain where it is, managed by specialist custodians within established regulatory frameworks. The difference is how rights to that commodity, or exposure linked to it, are issued, transferred and settled.

The practical benefits of tokenisation include faster settlement, 24/7 market access, lower minimum entry points through fractional ownership and more transparent records around custody and verification. The more complex the commodity, however, the more important its off-chain arrangements become, from issuer quality and custody to verification, redemption terms and secondary-market liquidity.

Beyond Gold… And Oil

In commodity markets beyond gold, oil is an obvious reference point. It is also one of the world’s most liquid and heavily financialised commodities, with deep futures markets, mature derivatives infrastructure and extensive institutional participation. The bigger test for tokenisation will be whether similar structures can extend into markets where access is less developed, less efficient or largely reserved for specialist participants.

Nickel, a critical industrial metal used across stainless steel, specialist alloys, plating, batteries and other commercial applications, is a useful example. Its importance is tied not only to traditional manufacturing, but also to electrification, advanced materials and industrial supply chains where high-grade inputs can play a strategically important role.

Despite that importance, direct exposure to nickel remains difficult for many investors. Access is typically shaped by specialist commodity markets, producer equities, industrial supply chains and institutional trading relationships. Tokenised structures can create another access route via a regulated, transferable instrument linked to a real commodity asset base.

This is where tokenisation can go beyond passive exposure to a commodity price. A tokenised security can be backed by, or linked to, physical inventory while also supporting the commercial activity around that asset, from inventory financing to processing, conversion and supply-chain development. This provides an opportunity not simply to place a metal on-chain, but to create a financial structure around the real-world economic activity connected to that metal.

Tokenisation does not have to mean placing a specific bar, barrel or tonne on-chain either. In many cases, the more practical route may be a tokenised security linked to commodity inventories, financing arrangements, production revenues, processing capacity or supply-chain infrastructure.

As always, the quality of the structure matters. Tokenisation does not remove the need for credible custody, verification, legal rights, redemption terms or secondary-market liquidity. Where those foundations are in place, however, commodities such as nickel show why the opportunity beyond gold may be much broader than bringing already-liquid markets on-chain.

More Routes To Commodity Exposure

Tokenised commodities are not a replacement for existing commodity markets. Traditional futures remain the main venue for liquid, standardised price exposure, with ETFs and specialist funds offering further familiar routes for investors. Physical markets meanwhile remain essential for participants that need delivery, storage, hedging or operational access to the underlying asset.

The value of tokenisation is in expanding the range of available options and broadening access to a wider group of investors, especially in markets where those options have historically been limited. 

Gold has already shown that commodity exposure can be represented through tokenised structures at scale. The next phase is broader, extending that model to industrial metals, strategic resources and commodities-linked securities in difficult-to-access traditional markets. 

If gold established the first major use case, alternative commodities are where tokenisation can truly prove its potential.