Metal tokenization firm Atomyze is officially ending its operations in the U.S. and leaving the market.

"Due to circumstances outside of our control, Atomyze (US) LLC has decided to shut down its operations and has entered a process to unwind the company," CEO Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto told The Block in an email.

The platform, which was created in 2020, launched the beta version of its first product in February with the tokenization of platinum and palladium, two important metals. Atomyze is backed by Russian metal miner Nornickel, reported Forbes.

The platform functioned as a custodian for its customers, i.e., it took metals from the suppliers directly and gave its customers digital tokens, which would be "fully redeemable." Hence, the holders of the tokens would be holding the actual metal as well, revealed Hightower-Sellitto in an interview in July.

"We're bringing efficiency to ownership of physical materials," Hightower-Sellitto had added. "So rather than having to go through the logistics of buying spot material on the open market, the OTC market, dealing with logistics to ship it, insurance, getting your own storage facility for it, you can actually own physical material through the digital title."

Atomyze Russia, the Russian arm of the tokenization platform, was the first firm to obtain a license from the Central Bank of Russia to issue and exchange digital financial assets in the region. Atomyze Russia even debuted its first digital token, backed by palladium produced by Nornickel in July, Reuters reported.

Atomyze US wanted to target institutional investors and extend its product across other types of commodities and physical assets. It was planning to debut exchange-traded funds (ETF) and other exchange-traded products.

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Reuters