For most of modern history, gold-backed money has been declared obsolete. And yet, whenever trust in global monetary architecture becomes strained, gold has a way of quietly re-entering the conversation.
That appears to be happening again—this time through the combined emergence of mBridge, the proposed UNIT, and tokenization.
The distinction matters:
The UNIT is best understood as a trade settlement and accounting unit, reportedly backed by a mix of gold and participating fiat currencies within the BRICS bloc.
mBridge is not money at all. It is infrastructure—a blockchain-based settlement rail designed to move value directly between central banks without relying on correspondent banking networks like SWIFT.
Tokenization is the force multiplier. It enables verification, transparency, and enforceability—turning gold backing from a political promise into something that can be digitally confirmed.
Individually, each is interesting. Together, they suggest a system-level shift.
This does not overthrow the U.S. dollar. It does not replace SWIFT overnight. But it does introduce functional competition:
Alternative settlement rails
A gold-referenced unit for trade
A verification layer previous gold-backed systems never had
Historically, gold-backed money failed not because gold was flawed—but because trust was discretionary and opaque.
Tokenization changes that.
Whether or not the UNIT is ever fully tokenized remains to be seen. But the direction is clear: in a multipolar, digital world, global settlement may increasingly depend on systems that are verifiable, programmable, and less reliant on political assurances.
Tokenization may not be the headline—but it may be what rewires the system.
Prior to entering the metal space, I assumed only gold and silver were considered precious metals. Wrong. Rhodium is a precious metal, as are all members of the platinum group metals, of which rhodium is a part. However, rhodium sits at the extreme edge of the precious-metals universe. Unlike metals traditionally associated with wealth preservation or adornment, rhodium lives almost entirely in the industrial shadows—embedded deep inside technologies that modern life depends on, yet rarely seen or discussed by investors. That combination of scarcity, opacity, and industrial dependence makes rhodium fascinating, essential—and, at least for now, an uneasy fit for tokenization..
As real-world assets (RWAs) migrate onto blockchain rails, the natural question arises: can an ultra-rare, thinly traded metal like rhodium realistically function as a tokenized asset? Or does its very rarity make it unsuitable for digital abstraction?
Tag along to explore that question in depth.
What Is Rhodium
Let’s start with a bit of metallurgy. Rhodium is a silvery-white, highly reflective metal. It belongs to the platinum group metals (PGMs), alongside platinum, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium. Chemically inert, extremely hard, and highly resistant to corrosion, rhodium possesses physical properties that make it indispensable for certain industrial applications. It may be almost entirely invisible to the public but not to chemists.
Unlike gold or silver, rhodium is not mined for its own sake. Rhodium is a by-product. Of what you ask? Almost exclusively of platinum and nickel mining. If someone is trying to sell you a rhodium mine, run fast because there are no rhodium-only mines! This structural reality has profound implications for supply, pricing, and ultimately, tokenization.
Rhodium is scarce. Annual global production typically measures in the tens of metric tons—not thousands. By comparison, annual gold production exceeds 3,000 metric tons. This extreme rarity has driven rhodium prices to extraordinary levels during periods of supply disruption or regulatory change.
What Is Rhodium Used For
I think of rhodium as a white hat character in the battle to reduce air pollution. After all its primary use—accounting for the vast majority of demand—is in automotive catalytic converters. Its chemical properties make it exceptionally effective at reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, a key regulatory target in vehicle exhaust systems.
However, rhodium is not a one-trick pony. Nope. Beyond automotive catalysts, rhodium has several secondary uses:
Chemical processing, where it acts as a catalyst in specialized reactions
Electronics, including electrical contacts and thermocouples
Glass manufacturing, particularly in high-temperature furnace components
Jewelry, almost exclusively as a plating material to enhance durability and reflectivity
What rhodium is not used for is equally important. Central banks are not buyers. Retail investors are nonexistent. There is no such thing as a rhodium-based coin. Rhodium’s value exists almost entirely because modern industry and environmental protection laws require it.
Where Is Rhodium Mined
What do rhodium and Nelson Mandela have in common? Both are from South Africa. That’s why if you want to see where rhodium is most plentiful travel to South Africa. Russia, Zimbabwe, and Canada also are minor producers. In other words, rhodium supply is geographically concentrated and that’s important to keep in mind.
This concentration introduces structural fragility:
Labor disputes in South Africa can disrupt global supply
Energy shortages directly affect mining output
Geopolitical tensions can restrict exports
Environmental regulations can alter production economics
Given rhodium is a byproduct metal, miners cannot easily respond to price signals. Even when rhodium prices spike dramatically, production cannot be ramped up independently. This supply inelasticity is one of the defining features of the rhodium market.
Rhodium’s Price History
Rhodium’s price history is best described as a roller-coaster. Let’s dive into that claim using the last 10 years as the test case.
For years, rhodium traded quietly at relatively modest levels. Then, beginning in the late 2010s, a combination of stricter vehicle emissions standards, declining mine output, and supply disruptions triggered an unprecedented surge. Prices skyrocketed from under $1,000 per ounce to peaks exceeding $20,000 per ounce in a remarkably short period. Somebody made a ton of money during those years! As substitution efforts increased and demand cycles shifted, rhodium experienced sharp declines—often with little warning. Meaning, some speculators went home crying with large losses. This volatility reflects rhodium’s structural characteristics:
Thin spot markets
Limited liquidity
Minimal futures infrastructure
Heavy dependence on regulatory demand
For investors, rhodium behaves less like a monetary metal and more like a highly specialized industrial input with speculative overlays. You are now on notice!
Is Rhodium a Viable Candidate for Tokenization
Tokenization thrives on clarity: clear ownership, clear custody, clear valuation, and clear redemption mechanisms; rhodium has some of those aspects. On the positive side:
Rhodium is high-value and compact, making custody efficient
It has industrial relevance, anchoring demand to real-world use
Its scarcity creates a compelling digital-scarcity narrative
However, significant obstacles exist:
Price discovery is opaque, with limited transparent spot markets
Physical settlement infrastructure is underdeveloped
Liquidity is thin, making fractionalization less meaningful
Regulatory classification is ambiguous, especially for retail access
Tokenized rhodium is theoretically possible. However, we don’t live in the world of theory. Hence, better to say it’s practically complex and probably impossible; at least for now. Any credible implementation would need institutional-grade custody, verified assay processes, and a conservative issuance model. A bridge too far.
Tokenized Rhodium Versus Traditional Rhodium Exposure
Traditional rhodium exposure is limited and inefficient. Investors typically access rhodium through:
Physical bars held via specialized dealers
Indirect exposure through mining equities
Occasionally, structured products in select jurisdictions
Tokenization could improve access by:
Enabling fractional ownership
Providing 24/7 global transferability
Integrating rhodium into broader digital portfolios
Yet tokenization does not solve rhodium’s fundamental liquidity constraints. A token can represent rhodium, but it cannot create market depth where none exists. Unlike gold or silver, rhodium tokens would likely remain niche instruments—used selectively rather than broadly.
Industrial and Supply Use Cases
From an industrial standpoint, tokenized rhodium could serve as:
Inventory financing tools for manufacturers
Supply-chain collateral for automotive producers
Hedging instruments tied to emissions-related demand
In theory, smart contracts could align rhodium tokens with industrial delivery schedules or regulatory compliance metrics. In practice, adoption would require significant coordination between miners, refiners, manufacturers, and regulators—an ambitious undertaking. In other words, unlikely.
Restraints, Constraints, and Realism
Rhodium’s biggest limitation as a tokenized asset is not technological—it is structural. Key constraints include:
Supply that cannot respond to price incentives
Demand driven by regulation rather than consumer choice
Extreme volatility unsuitable for many token investors
Limited public understanding and trust
Tokenization excels where assets are already widely held, liquid, and understood. Rhodium meets none of those criteria today.
Long-Term Outlook: Rhodium’s Digital Role
Rhodium is unlikely to become a flagship tokenized metal. It lacks the monetary history of gold, the industrial breadth of silver, or the transitional narrative of copper. However, that does not mean rhodium has no digital future.
In a mature RWA ecosystem, rhodium tokens could exist as specialized instruments, embedded within industrial finance platforms or emissions-compliance frameworks. They may serve corporations rather than retail investors. They may be used for settlement rather than speculation. In that sense, rhodium’s digital role mirrors its physical one: essential, invisible, and highly specialized.
Tokenized rhodium will not democratize wealth. But it may quietly modernize one of the most critical—and fragile—metal markets in the modern economy.
Until next time,
Yogi Nelson
This post is part of an ongoing weekly series on the tokenization of precious metals, published on BlockchainAIForum and LinkedIn, examining custody, regulation, issuer structure, and settlement infrastructure.
Every metal has a unique story. The story of gold is money. The silver story is about versatility, monetary and industrial. Platinum will eloquently explain its necessity in industrial processes. Palladium too has its story. Follow along and listen to palladium as it recites how its story is centered on technology, regulation, mother nature, and fragility.
It turns out few people outside mining, automotive engineering, or commodities trading think much about palladium. Why would they? Palladium is literally, an inside-the-machines story! Yet during the last 20 years, palladium often, albeit quietly, traded at prices higher than gold. Why? Was it monetary demand? No. Could tradition explain? No, try again. It’s because modern technology—and modern regulation—left the world with no easy substitute.
As blockchain technology matures and real-world asset tokenization expands beyond obvious candidates, palladium deserves a closer look, much closer. Again, not as a monetary metal, nor a general industrial metal, but as a high-tech constraint metal—one whose supply, demand, and price behavior reveal exactly why tokenization exists in the first place. Let’s not get ahead of the story. We need to start with the basics–what is palladium.
What Is Palladium?
Palladium is a silvery-white precious metal belonging to the platinum-group metals (PGMs), alongside platinum, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium. I call them the “UM” family! Palladium is chemically stable, highly catalytic, and resistant to corrosion—properties that make it ideal for industrial applications where efficiency matters and margins are thin. Do you see where this is going?
Unlike gold or silver, palladium has no historical monetary role. Discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston while refining platinum ore from South America, it never circulated as coinage or reserve money. Palladium’s value has always been functional. That distinction matters. Palladium is not concerned with narratives or sentimentality. Palladium say: physics and chemistry make me who I am.
What Is Palladium Used For?
The vast majority of palladium demand (approximately 80%) comes from one place: emissions control. Palladium is a critical component in catalytic converters for gasoline-powered vehicles, where it helps transform toxic exhaust gases into less harmful emissions. (Prior to catalytic converters palladium was used in: electronics, dentistry, medicine, chemical catalytics, jewelry as reflected below). As governments tightened emissions standards across North America, Europe, and Asia, palladium demand surged. Given the environmental damage caused by gasoline-powered vehicles, I say, hurray for palladium!
While emissions control dominate, there are other uses, including:
Even so, palladium remains deeply tied to automotive production and environmental regulation. When gasoline vehicle demand rises, palladium demand follows. When supply tightens, due to geopolitical events or disruptions in the few productive mines, prices can move sharply. Electric vehicles (EVs) may pose a long-term threat to palladium demand. However, slower-than-expected EV adoption and stricter emission rules, along with rising hybrid vehicle sales, sustain significant demand for palladium. In other words, palladium isn’t about to disappear any time soon.
Where Is Palladium Mined?
If scarcity gives metals value, concentration gives them risk. Palladium is no exception. Palladium production is extraordinarily concentrated. Roughly 80% of global supply comes from just two countries: Russia and South Africa. Russia alone accounts for a significant share of primary palladium production, largely as a byproduct of nickel and platinum mining. Given palladium is mined as a byproduct, production decisions are driven by nickel and platinum economics rather than palladium demand itself. This rigidity explains much of palladium’s historical volatility—and why transparency matters so deeply in this market.
Palladium as a byproduct creates several layers of vulnerability, including:
Geopolitical and sanctions risk
Supply-chain opacity
Limited ability to increase production quickly
Dependence on the economics of other metals
Palladium’s Price History: A Lesson in Constraint
Palladium prices can experience dramatic changes! Ups, downs, a real roller coaster. In fact, in the late 2010s, palladium prices surged well above gold, driven by tightening emissions standards, strong automotive demand, and constrained supply growth. At its peak, palladium traded at more than twice the price of gold—an almost unthinkable outcome for a metal few people could easily identify.
Then came gigantic price reversals. Technology shifted. Electric vehicles gained momentum. Recycling increased. Demand softened. Prices fell sharply. Volatility is not a flaw in the palladium market. It’s the defining feature. Now that we know what palladium is, how it’s used, where it comes from, we turn to the BIG question: why is palladium a tokenization candidate?
Why Palladium Is a Serious Tokenization Candidate
Let me answer the question directly with the following observations: tokenization works best where markets are opaque, fragmented, and slow to adapt. Palladium fits that description perfectly.
Transparency Where It Matters Most
Physical palladium inventories are difficult to track and often reported with delays. Tokenization allows specific, assayed, vaulted palladium to be represented on-chain, with ownership and inventory visible in near real time.
In a market where supply disruptions have immediate consequences, visibility is not a luxury—it is infrastructure.
Liquidity Without Distortion
Palladium markets are relatively small, and large trades can move prices. Tokenization enables fractional ownership and broader participation without forcing physical delivery or disrupting industrial supply chains. Tokenization is liquidity without leverage.
Faster Settlement in a Volatile Market
In fast-moving markets, slow settlement amplifies risk. Blockchain-based settlement reduces transaction times from days to minutes, limiting counterparty exposure during sharp price swings. For palladium, which is a relatively small market, this is especially important.
Tokenized Palladium vs Traditional Palladium Exposure
Today, palladium exposure typically comes through futures contracts, exchange-traded products, or mining equities. These instruments provide price exposure, but they remain abstractions layered atop clearinghouses, custodians, and jurisdictional complexity.
Tokenized palladium offers something different and more importantly, better:
Direct ownership of physical metal
On-chain auditability
Reduced reliance on intermediaries
Global accessibility without brokerage friction
Where traditional instruments offer price exposure, tokenization offers asset exposure. A critical distinction during periods of market stress.
Industrial and Supply-Chain Use Cases
Tokenized palladium is not primarily an investment concept. The strongest case for tokenized palladium falls to automotive manufacturers, chemical processors, and industrial users. Here is how they could use it:
Hedge raw-material costs directly
Maintain verified strategic inventories
Improve supply-chain traceability
Reduce settlement and financing friction
As ESG reporting and regulatory scrutiny increase, on-chain tracking of critical materials becomes a competitive advantage rather than a novelty.
Risks, Constraints, and Realism
Only two sure bets in life: death and taxes. Tokenized palladium is neither of those, therefore it is not risk-free. Below are four risks:
Demand is sensitive to technological shifts
Electric vehicle adoption introduces long-term uncertainty
Market size limits liquidity
Regulatory clarity remains uneven
Tokenization does not eliminate these risks–but it does force transparency. Ownership is explicit. Inventory is verifiable. Prices respond faster to reality. Markets become less forgiving—but more honest. A reasonable trade-off.
Long-Term Outlook: Palladium’s Digital Role
Will palladium become a household name? Don’t count on it. Besides, by its very nature, palladium doesn’t seek the spotlight; it does not aspire to monetary status or cultural symbolism. Palladium is the sensible sister, dedicated to solving technical problems efficiently and quietly. That makes palladium a strong representative of the next phase of tokenization.
As real-world asset tokenization matures, attention will shift from symbolic assets to functional ones. From narratives to necessities. From ideology to infrastructure. A tokenized future is one in which palladium belongs.
The facts all point in one direction: palladium is shaped by high-tech, regulation, and Mother Nature. In such a world, an asset that can be tokenized benefits immensely from transparency, speed, and verifiability–in other words, tokenization on the blockchain.
To conclude, tokenized palladium is not about hype. It is about alignment—between physical reality and digital systems.
Until next time,
Yogi Nelson
This post is part of an ongoing weekly series on the tokenization of precious metals, published on BlockchainAIForum and LinkedIn, examining custody, regulation, issuer structure, and settlement infrastructure.
Sources
World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) – Palladium Market Reports U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Mineral Commodity Summaries: Palladium International Energy Agency (IEA) – Emissions Standards and Technology Transition
Gold was the first precious metal to be tokenized. Silver followed, bridging money and industry.
Platinum is next—but for very different reasons.
Unlike gold or silver, platinum is not driven by monetary tradition or investor psychology. It is driven by necessity. Platinum is essential to emissions control, chemical processing, medical technology, and the emerging hydrogen economy. Modern industry quite literally depends on it.
Platinum is also exceptionally scarce. Annual global production is under 200 metric tons, with supply concentrated in just two countries. That combination—industrial indispensability and constrained supply—creates unique market risks that legacy financial infrastructure does a poor job of addressing.
This is where tokenization matters.
Tokenized platinum allows verified, assayed metal to be represented on-chain, enabling: • Transparent ownership • Faster settlement • Fractional access • Global reach • Improved supply-chain visibility
Unlike ETFs or futures, tokenization is not synthetic exposure layered on top of complexity. It is direct, auditable access to a critical real-world asset.
Platinum may never be flashy. It does not need to be. Its role is quieter, more technical, and more permanent.
Platinum has been tokenized, albeit in limited and experimental forms, since roughly 2019, but unlike gold and silver, it has yet to see a globally liquid, institutional-grade on-chain breakthrough—making it one of the most compelling “next metals” for tokenization. Of course, we already know tokenized gold first emerged in 2017, when blockchain technology was used for the first time to represent direct ownership of vaulted physical gold on-chain. What about silver? When was it first tokenized? Not surprisingly, after gold, in 2018. One year later came platinum.
Platinum does not rely on tradition, mythology, or monetary nostalgia to justify its relevance. If those factors don’t drive platinum, what does? Platinum matters because modern civilization cannot function without it. Platinum is a quiet essential metal. It is embedded in emissions systems, chemical processing, medical technology, and the emerging hydrogen economy.
Blockchain technology has moved beyond novelty to necessity. What’s more the evolution of blockchain is fantastic news for platinum. That means platinum enters the conversation at precisely the right moment—not as a store of ancient wealth, but as a critical industrial asset whose supply, custody, and pricing demand modernization. Although platinum is clearly different from gold and silver, that doesn’t mean tokenization is not viable, to the contrary. Despite the differences, the bull case for tokenized platinum is strong. Let’s start with a few fundamental differences between the metals.
What Makes Platinum Different
Platinum belongs to the platinum-group metals (PGMs), a family known for exceptional catalytic properties, heat resistance, and chemical stability. Keep those characteristics; they drive the demand for platinum.
Several characteristics distinguish platinum sharply from gold and silver:
Extreme scarcity: annual global platinum production averages under 200 metric tons. Annual production of gold is 3,000 metric tons, while silver is approximately 26,000 metric tons.
Geographic concentration: roughly three-quarters of supply comes from South Africa, with most of the remainder from Russia. Two nations rather than the 194 worldwide!
High production costs: platinum is difficult and expensive to extract and refine
Limited substitution: in many applications, platinum has no perfect replacement
These constraints make platinum uniquely sensitive to supply disruptions, geopolitical risk, and technological demand shifts. Tokenization does not change these fundamentals—but it makes them visible, auditable, and tradable in ways legacy markets struggle to achieve.
Monetary Metal or Industrial Metal? (The Platinum Distinction)
Gold is money, a store of wealth. Period. It is not currency. Silver is a combo platter. It straddles the line between money and industry. It has been, is, and will likely continue to be, money, a currency and industrial metal. Platinum, as with gold, has one primary use. But unlike gold, with its use as money, platinum is industrial, and industrial only. And what are those industrial applications? I’ll give you five:
Catalytic converters for emissions control
Chemical and petroleum refining
Medical devices and pharmaceuticals
Electronics and data storage
Hydrogen fuel cells and clean-energy systems
The upshot is platinum’s price behavior is driven less by investor sentiment and more by regulation, technological adoption, and industrial growth cycles. Tokenization allows markets to better reflect this reality—connecting industrial demand directly with transparent supply and ownership.
Why Platinum Is a Natural Fit for Tokenization
Tokenization solves certain problems and does so exceedingly well, under certain circumstances. Tokenized platinum just so happens to fit the bill. Consider the following:
Scarcity and Verifiability Platinum bars are already standardized, serialized, and assayed. (Assayed means a metal that has been tested for purity, metal content, authenticity, and conformance to standards). This makes platinum bars ideal candidates for 1:1 on-chain representation backed by vaulted physical metal.
Liquidity Constraints Platinum markets are tiny–much smaller than gold or silver. Tokenization enables fractional ownership, global access, and continuous trading without requiring physical delivery. Analogous to COMEX and LBMA markets, but with verified inventories!
Settlement Inefficiencies Traditional platinum trades can involve long settlement cycles and counterparty risk. Blockchain settlement dramatically reduces settlement time to minutes or perhaps seconds, and significantly does away with counterparty risk.
Global Accessibility Tokenized platinum can be accessed without brokerage accounts, national market hours, or legacy intermediaries. On-chain transaction tomorrow means, breaking the chains that limit markets today.
While all that is true, remember tokenization does not reinvent platinum—it modernizes access to it.
Tokenized Platinum vs. Traditional Platinum Products
Platinum exchange traded funds (ETFs) and futures contracts already exist. However, those financial products are abstractions layered atop complex custodial and regulatory structures. In 2026 and beyond, investors want what tokenization offers, specifically:
Direct ownership rather than synthetic exposure
On-chain transparency of reserves and transfers
Programmable compliance and auditability
Global reach independent of local financial infrastructure
Where ETFs represent claims, tokenized platinum represents digitally native possession backed by physical reality. This distinction mirrors the evolution seen in tokenized gold and silver—and completes the progression.
Real-World Use Cases Beyond Investment
Tokenized platinum’s utility extends well beyond speculation.
Industrial Hedging Manufacturers can hedge platinum exposure directly on-chain, reducing reliance on opaque derivatives markets. What you see is what you get!
Supply-Chain Traceability Blockchain tokens can track platinum from mine to refinery to end use, supporting ESG compliance and regulatory reporting. Platinum buyers can be sure of what is happening as it happens.
Corporate Treasury Assets Energy, transportation, and clean-technology firms may hold tokenized platinum as a strategic reserve asset aligned with operational needs. For instance, a car manufacturer may want to buy platinum, put it in storage, and draw it down as needed and where needed, using the blockchain.
On-Chain Collateral Platinum tokens can serve as collateral in decentralized finance systems, anchoring digital credit to physical industry. It’s unlikely a bank will offer a high debt to loan value if the collateral is platinum due to the limited number of potential buyers in case of a liquidation. Nevertheless, for a sophisticated lender, who understands the platinum market well the possibility exist.
This is where tokenization becomes infrastructure, not ideology.
Risks, Constraints, and Realism
Is tokenization risk-free. No way. Nothing is risk-free. In the case of platinum, below are some risk factors:
The market is smaller, increasing volatility
Custody standards must remain rigorous
Regulatory frameworks vary by jurisdiction
Adoption will be gradual rather than explosive
Tokenization does not eliminate these challenges—but it forces transparency, which is often the first step toward stability.
Long-Term Outlook: Platinum’s Quiet Permanence
Gold appeals to philosophy. When gold is strong, that often means geopolitical trouble is brewing. Silver is Mr. Versatility. He can be money. He can be industrial. He can be both. Platinum equals necessity. Platinum isn’t going to dominate headline news in the tokenized metals space—that is not a weakness.
As blockchain infrastructure matures and real-world asset tokenization becomes standard, platinum’s combination of scarcity, industrial indispensability, and constrained supply positions it as a permanent on-chain asset, not a speculative trend. Once tokenized properly, platinum is unlikely to leave the blockchain—because modern industry is unlikely to function without it.
Until next time,
Yogi Nelson
Sources
World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) – Platinum Quarterly Market Review U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Mineral Commodity Summaries: Platinum Group Metals Johnson Matthey – Platinum Group Metals Market Report International Energy Agency (IEA) – Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transitions World Bank – Minerals for Climate Action
Blockchain & AI Forum 