Industrial asset tokenization platform launches with large first test customer

Atomyze tokenization platform uses distributed ledger technology to represent physical assets in digital form, making trading easier, providing faster transaction time and providing a permissioned view of transactions.

Major industrial partners of the company will be given access to the platform during the test phase. Among those invited to the test phase are Nornickel's partners Trafigura, Traxys, and Umicore. Later on, once Atomyze secures all licensing required, its doors will open to other types of issuers, and the platform will go into full commercial operation.

Tokens backed by metal reserves

Nornickel plans to use the platform's services to tokenize part of its contractual volumes, thereby providing a new class of product for a broad range of players eager to invest in digital asset markets. The issued tokens will be backed by metal reserves, which will undergo a regular audit. Initially, Nornickel will test tokens backed by palladium, cobalt and copper. In the future, the company intends to tokenize other metals, with plans to gradually switch to digital means of trading. Total anticipated volume of issuance in the first year is expected to be up to 10 percent of overall sales volume of Nornickel's production.

"Nornickel will be the first company among the extractive industry leaders to begin trading using tokens. Nornickel is interested in this project because it will enable the Company to popularize palladium and other metals by transitioning to digital trading methods," noted Vladimir Potanin, President of PJSC "MMC "Norilsk Nickel."

Experienced Swiss management team

Atomyze is operated by Tokentrust, a Zug-based start-up founded in 2018. CEO Marco Grossi served as Director at Deloitte Switzerland before he joined Tokentrust in 2019. The other members of the management team are experienced too. Head of Finance Patrick Hardy worked for Credit Suisse, UBS and Capital Dynamics before. Roman Gräff, Head of Trading and Products, has been employed by Vontobel, Credit Suisse and Clariden Leu. 

"The main idea of tokenization is not in buying or trading cryptocurrencies; it lies in the creation of a modern and transparent mechanism for digitizing of assets, and in the creation of new digital markets, where tokenization is a service helping issuers transfer rights to their assets into a digital form," explained Atomyze CEO, Marco Grossi.