Tokenised silver, platinum, palladium, copper and uranium: a guide for institutional investors

Key takeaways

• Tokenised commodity ETFs give investors exposure to real-world assets such as silver, platinum, palladium, copper, and uranium, without the cost or complexity of holding physical metal or managing a separate brokerage account.
  
  
• These five instruments span two distinct themes: precious metals as a macro hedge (SLVx, PPLTx, PALLx) and the energy transition (COPXx, URAx).
  
  
• Each tokenised ETF tracks the price performance of its underlying fund, giving investors a direct, single-asset way to access markets that are otherwise fragmented across exchanges and jurisdictions.
  
  
• All five are available through the Luno OTC Desk, giving qualified investors a private execution channel for building or rebalancing exposure at scale.
  

Five tokenised commodity instruments, now available to institutional and qualified investors through the Luno OTC Desk, give investors a way to build this kind of exposure directly: silver (SLVx), platinum (PPLTx), palladium (PALLx), copper (COPXx), and uranium (URAx). SLVx, PPLTx, and PALLx are physically-backed metal trusts, where the investor holds a slice of actual bullion stored in vaults. COPXx and URAx are equity-based ETFs, holding baskets of mining and production companies. Each tracks the price performance of its underlying fund, meaning investors gain exposure to the commodity or sector without needing to source, store, or insure physical metal, or open accounts with multiple brokers.

Why commodities behave differently to equities and digital assets

Commodities, and the equities tied to their production, tend to respond to a different set of drivers than technology stocks or digital assets. Precious metals are often described as a store of value because they cannot be created or diluted in the way that currencies can be. During periods when inflation rises or confidence in a currency weakens, demand for metals such as gold, silver, and platinum has historically increased, as investors look for assets that are not tied to any single government’s monetary policy. A note that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. 

Industrial metals and energy-transition commodities follow a different but related logic. Copper and uranium are both central to the build-out of electrification and low-carbon power generation, meaning demand for them is shaped less by short-term sentiment and more by long-term infrastructure and energy policy decisions. For a portfolio that already holds equities and digital assets, tokenised assets spanning these commodities can often serve as a macro hedge, introducing a return driver that does not move in lockstep with the rest of the portfolio. 

How tokenised commodity ETFs work

Each of these instruments is a tokenised representation of an established, exchange-listed ETF. The token is fully collateralised on a 1:1 basis, meaning that for every token in circulation, a corresponding share of the underlying ETF is held by a regulated custodian. The token holder gains economic exposure to the underlying fund’s price performance, rather than direct ownership of the ETF share itself, which is why these instruments do not carry rights such as voting that come with holding the share directly.

The peg to the underlying ETF is maintained by this backing structure. Tokens are issued and redeemed against actual shares held in custody through a primary market operated by the issuer, while day-to-day trading happens on secondary markets such as exchanges. Because authorised participants can mint or redeem tokens against the real asset, any meaningful gap between the token’s market price and the underlying ETF’s value creates an opportunity that pulls the two back into line.

The practical effect for investors is that the tokenised version behaves like the underlying ETF in terms of price exposure, while gaining the properties of a digital asset: it can be held in a wallet alongside other digital assets, transferred on-chain, and traded outside traditional brokerage infrastructure. The trade-off is that the investor holds a claim on the economic performance of the fund through the token structure, rather than holding the fund directly, so the credibility of the issuer and custodian arrangement is part of what an investor is relying on.

SLVx: tokenised exposure to silver

SLVx is a tokenised silver ETF that tracks the price performance of a fund holding physical silver bullion, giving investors exposure to the silver price without needing to hold or store the metal directly. Silver is widely held as an inflation hedge alongside gold, but it also has a significant industrial demand component, particularly in electronics and solar panel manufacturing, which gives it a slightly different demand profile to gold.

For investors looking to add a precious metal with both a monetary and an industrial use case, SLVx offers a direct way to do so through a single tokenised position.

PPLTx: tokenised exposure to platinum

PPLTx is a tokenised platinum ETF tracking a fund that is physically backed by platinum bullion held in secured vaults, and is among the longest-established platinum ETFs available to investors. Platinum sits at the intersection of precious metals and industrial demand, with significant use in catalytic converters and other industrial applications, alongside its role as a precious metal investment.

PPLTx gives investors a cost-effective way to gain exposure to platinum’s price performance without the logistical complexity of holding physical bars.

PALLx: tokenised exposure to palladium

PALLx is a tokenised palladium ETF tracking the spot price of physical palladium bullion through a fund that is also physically backed. Palladium is heavily used in catalytic converters for petrol vehicles, which means its price has historically been sensitive to automotive production trends and emissions regulations.

Because palladium’s demand drivers differ from those of gold, silver, and platinum, PALLx can add a further layer of diversification within a broader precious metals allocation.

COPXx: tokenised exposure to copper miners

COPXx is a tokenised copper miners ETF that tracks a fund holding a basket of companies involved in copper mining and processing, giving investors indirect exposure to the copper price through the performance of the producers themselves. Copper is a core input for electrification, including power grids, electric vehicles, and renewable energy infrastructure, which has made it a focal point of discussions around the energy transition and the broader build-out of AI-related infrastructure.

Rather than tracking the copper price directly, COPXx gives investors exposure to a diversified set of mining companies in a single position, spreading company-specific risk across the basket.

URAx: tokenised exposure to the uranium and nuclear supply chain

URAx is a tokenised uranium ETF that tracks a fund holding companies involved in uranium mining, nuclear fuel components, and the broader nuclear energy supply chain. As governments in a number of regions have signalled renewed support for nuclear power as part of their energy transition plans, the companies behind this supply chain have become a more closely watched part of the energy sector.

URAx gives investors single-trade access to this theme, covering companies across mining, processing, and nuclear infrastructure rather than requiring exposure to any one company directly.

How these tokenised commodity ETFs fit together

Asset	Underlying exposure	Primary role in a portfolio
SLVx	Physical silver bullion	Inflation hedge with industrial demand component
PPLTx	Physical platinum bullion	Precious metal with industrial catalytic demand
PALLx	Physical palladium bullion	Diversifier within precious metals, automotive-linked demand
COPXx	Basket of copper mining companies	Exposure to electrification and energy transition demand
URAx	Basket of uranium and nuclear supply chain companies	Exposure to renewed nuclear energy demand

Used together, these five tokenised commodity ETFs allow an investor to build a position that spans both ends of the real-assets spectrum: metals with a long record as stores of value on one side, and the industrial inputs of a lower-carbon energy system on the other.

Accessing tokenised commodity ETFs through the Luno OTC Desk

For institutional and qualified investors looking to build or rebalance exposure across these assets at scale, the Luno OTC Desk offers a private execution channel with firm, executable quotes and flexible settlement options. Rather than working across multiple exchanges or brokers, investors can access precious metals and energy transition commodities through the OTC Desk directly, with SLVx, PPLTx, PALLx, COPXx, and URAx all available and supported by a dedicated trader throughout the process.

This makes the OTC Desk a practical entry point for investors who want exposure to real-world assets alongside their existing digital asset holdings, without adding operational complexity to their portfolio.

FAQs

1. What are tokenised commodity ETFs? Tokenised commodity ETFs are digital tokens that track the price performance of an established exchange-traded fund holding commodities or commodity-related companies. Each token is backed 1:1 by a share of the underlying ETF held with a regulated custodian.
   
   
2. What is SLVx? SLVx tracks the price performance of a fund backed by physical silver bullion.
   
   
3. What is PPLTx? PPLTx tracks the price performance of a fund backed by physical platinum bullion held in secured vaults.
   
   
4. What is PALLx? PALLx tracks the spot price of physical palladium bullion through a physically backed fund.
   
   
5. What is COPXx? COPXx tracks an ETF holding a basket of global copper mining and processing companies.
   
   
6. What is URAx? URAx tracks an ETF holding companies involved in uranium mining, nuclear fuel components, and the nuclear energy supply chain.
   
   
7. Why are precious metals considered a macro hedge? Precious metals such as silver, platinum, and palladium are not tied to any single currency or government policy, so they have historically held value during periods of inflation or currency uncertainty.
   
   
8. How are copper and uranium linked to the energy transition? Copper is a key input for electrification and renewable energy infrastructure, while uranium underpins nuclear power, which a number of governments have identified as part of their energy transition plans.
   
   
9. Do I need to hold physical metal to access these assets? No. Each tokenised ETF tracks the price performance of its underlying fund, so investors gain exposure without sourcing, storing, or insuring physical commodities.
   
   
10. How can I access these tokenised commodity ETFs? Qualified investors can access SLVx, PPLTx, PALLx, COPXx, and URAx through the Luno OTC Desk, with firm executable quotes and direct support from a dedicated desk.

*Investing in Crypto assets may result in the loss of capital. Luno (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP No. 53314), and registered credit provider (NCRCP22123). This information is not intended to be nor does it constitute financial, tax, legal, investment or other advice; nor is it a call to trade. The information is intended as general market commentary for information purposes only. Before making any decision or taking any action regarding your finances, you should consult a qualified Financial Advisor.