Nornickel Launches Two Blockchain-Based Exchange Traded Commodities

The world’s largest palladium producer listed its nickel and copper ETCs on the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana.

Photo: FM

Nornickel, a Russian major metal producer and the world’s largest palladium producer, has announced it started to offer blockchain-based exchange-traded commodities (ETCs). These assets will be based on their metals – nickel and copper, and are set to launch on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Borsa Italiana.

According to the announcement, the ETCs will be priced on annual expense ratios, with 0.85% for the Copper ETC, while nickel ETC will have 0.75% – both launched in the context of the Global Palladium Fund (GPF) founded by the metal produced. GPF is the ETC issuer to use blockchain technology that records bar information into the distributed ledger technology (DLT). That said, the fund will rely on IBM’s Hyperledger Blockchain in the custody chain of the metal.

“We are excited to announce the launch of the GPF’s new ETCs – the first physically-backed nickel and copper exchange traded products to see the light of day. The new digital instruments is a great opportunity for investors to benefit from the rising demand for the base metals as the world is setting on the path towards a greener future,” Anton Berlin, Nornickel’s Vice President of Sales and Distribution, said about the launch.

Nornickel Blockchain Plans

In the same line, Alexander Stoyanov, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Palladium Fund, believes that the offering of the new physical copper and nickel ETCs will be beneficial because of the low costs it carries, as well as the transparency offered through the usage of the blockchain technology.

In December 2020, Nornickel announced its first plans to issue blockchain-powered tokens to its industrial partners, Traxys and Umicore. “The tokens issued by the Global Palladium Fund on the Atomyze platform will allow it to deliver Nornickel’s products to customers in a more efficient and transparent way. We are confident that it will provide the industry with the necessary tools to guarantee responsible sourcing,” Berlin commented at that time.