AI IS RE-EVALUATING THE REAL WORLD: WHY GOLD, SILVER AND COPPER ARE AGAIN IMPORTANT

FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, GLOBAL FINANCIAL INNOVATION HAS ALMOST CENTRED AROUND “DIGITIZATION”: INTERNET PLATFORMS, ETFS, STABILIZATION CURRENCIES, AND TODAY'S RWA (REAL WORLD ASSET) MONETIZATION. BUT WITH THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF AI, A DEEPER QUESTION BEGAN TO EMERGE: WHAT IS REALLY SUPPORTING THE AI ERA

The answer may not be the code itself, but the reality behind it。

AI IS REDEFINING THE ASSET LAYER STRUCTURE

FOR A LONG TIME, AI HAS OFTEN BEEN IMAGINED AS A "DEMATERIALIZED" TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION, BUT REALITY IS THE OPPOSITE. AI IS STRENGTHENING ITS DEPENDENCE ON THE REAL WORLD, RATHER THAN WEAKENING IT. EACH MODEL TRAINING, REASONING AND DEPLOYMENT NEEDS TO BE UNDERPINNED BY A LARGE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING DATA CENTRES, ELECTRICITY GRIDS, COOLING FACILITIES, ADVANCED HARDWARE AND INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES. IN OTHER WORDS, IT APPEARS TO BE A DIGITAL SYSTEM, BUT ESSENTIALLY AN INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM。

And what is really irreplaceable in this system is metal and real resources. Materials such as copper, silver and gold collectively determine conductivity, durability and infrastructure performance, which are not alternatives to software。

S& P Global expects that the demand for copper from data centres alone will increase from 1.1 million tons in 2025 to 2.5 million tons in 2040. At the same time, the market expects the global copper refining shortfall to reach 3.04 million tons in 2025 and is likely to expand to 6 million tons in 2035. As AI infrastructure continues to expand, demand for these real resources is growing rapidly, while supply remains structurally constrained。

An increasing number of industry observers are beginning to believe that this is not a short-term cycle but rather a long-term structural change. What really constrains AI's expansion may no longer be just the calculus itself, but the “Physical Layer” of energy, metals and real-life infrastructure. This layer is also shaping its own scarce logic, pricing logic and asset systems。

A new “Asset Stack” structure is emerging

Against this background, the market has begun to redefine the relationship between the physical, financial and digital layers:

• Physical Layer: Metal, energy, real resources

• Financial Layer: Government bonds, ETF, structured products

Digital Layer: monetization infrastructure, programmable assets

THE DIGITAL LAYER IS BASED ON THE FINANCIAL LAYER, WHICH ULTIMATELY DEPENDS ON THE PHYSICAL LAYER OF THE REAL WORLD. OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE MARKET HAS LONG BEEN HIGHLY REWARDED FOR “TOP-LEVEL ASSETS”, INCLUDING EQUITIES, ETFS, INTERNET PLATFORMS AND DIGITAL FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE; BUT NOW AI IS PULLING MARKET ATTENTION BACK TO THE BOTTOM-DOWN REAL-WORLD RESOURCE ITSELF。

It doesn't create value in a vacuum

THAT EXPLAINS WHY MOST RWA PROJECTS DON'T REALLY COME OUT. THE PROBLEM IS NOT ENTIRELY TECHNICAL PER SE, BUT ASSET SELECTION。

The monetization does not create value in a vacuum, but simply reconnects assets that the market had already trusted. In order for an asset to be truly monetized, it often requires mature demand, deep liquidity and institutional consensus, otherwise the monetization often brings complexity rather than value。

From this point of view, the current development path towards monetization is quite reasonable. The first to be monetized is sovereign debt, because it has the world’s most mature liquidity and credit system; then gold, which has been the global consensus for centuries; and then silver, which has both the attributes of reserves and industrial needs. And what is really likely to continue to expand in the future is the industrial material on which the real economy depends。

IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT THE ORDER OF MONETIZATION DOES NOT DEPEND ENTIRELY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE ASSETS TO AI INFRASTRUCTURE. COPPER AND INDUSTRIAL METALS ARE NO LESS IMPORTANT THAN GOLD. WHAT REALLY DETERMINES THE ORDER IS WHERE THE MARKET CONSENSUS IS FIRST ESTABLISHED AND, AT EVERY STEP, THE CREDIBILITY ACCUMULATED IN THE FIRST STEP。

This is also the current core logic of the RWA monetization platform, Matrixdock: priority begins with long-term confidence-building assets in the market, including sovereign debt, gold and silver. At present, Matrixdock has managed more than $200 million in chain assets and serves institutional clients who simultaneously need real world asset stability and chain infrastructure programming。

GOLD, ETF AND GOLD TOKENS, MOVING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS

In the gold sector, a new change is also taking place。

GOLD ETF WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS OF THE PAST TWO DECADES, ADDRESSING THE DIFFICULTY OF TRADING IN PHYSICAL GOLD, INSUFFICIENT LIQUIDITY, AND HIGH COST OF HOLDING IT, ALLOWING GOLD TO BE SOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME AS EASILY AS STOCK BY ORDINARY INVESTORS。

BUT THE CORE LOGIC OF ETF IS ESSENTIALLY TO GIVE INVESTORS “GOLD ACCESS” TO THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, NOT TO ALLOW GOLD TO ENTER THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM. THE GOLD IN THE ETF REMAINS ESSENTIALLY IN TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL HOLDING SYSTEMS, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE PROGRAMMABLE SETTLEMENTS, PRIMARY MORTGAGES OR CROSS-SYSTEM INTERACTIONS LIKE CHAIN ASSETS。

As programmable finance and chain finance developed, the market began to ask new questions: can gold be truly involved in financial activity, in addition to being “held”? For example, whether immediate settlement can be achieved, cross-border collateral, and movement without the need for hosting intermediaries。

IN A SENSE, THIS IS ALSO THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOLD TOKENS AND GOLD ETF. GOLD ETF ADDRESSES THE “INVESTMENT” OF GOLD, WHILE GOLD TOKENS ARE EXPLORING THE BROADER FUNCTIONS OF GOLD IN THE DIGITAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM。

The gold token of Matrixdock, XAUm, is based on this logic. At present, XAUm already owns approximately $74 million in gold asset management (AUM), with cumulative transactions exceeding $100 million, the goal being not simply to replicate ETFs, but to allow gold to start entering the chain financial system。

From “value storage” to “functional assets”

And gold may be just the starting point。

AS AI INFRASTRUCTURE CONTINUES TO EXPAND, MORE AND MORE INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS BEGIN TO SHIFT FROM “LARGE COMMODITIES” TO “STRATEGIC RESOURCES”. SILVER IS USED TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY, COPPER SUPPORTS ENERGY AND CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHILE INDUSTRIAL METALS ARE BECOMING THE REAL PHYSICAL BOTTOM BEHIND AI INFRASTRUCTURE。

IN PARTICULAR, THE STRUCTURE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND HAS BEGUN TO CHANGE. CURRENTLY, FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, THE BANK IS EXPERIENCING A STRUCTURAL SUPPLY SHORTFALL, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO WIDEN TO 46.3 MILLION OUNCES IN 2026. INDUSTRIAL DEMAND FROM SOLAR ENERGY, ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND AI INFRASTRUCTURE IS CONTINUING TO INCREASE CONSUMPTION WHILE MINERAL SUPPLY GROWTH IS DIFFICULT TO SYNCHRONIZE。

If gold represents “store of value”, industrial metals are more a “functional asset”. However, the monetization of industrial metals does not entirely replicate the path of gold. Because industrial metals themselves can be consumed, the focus is not just on reserve properties, but on how to establish operational and circulation links between real commodity systems and digital infrastructure。

The silver coin of Matrixdock, XAGm, is the first step in this direction. Its location is the logic of the storage that connects precious metals and the functional demand for industrial metals. As the road map moves further into the “physical layer”, the direction is becoming clearer: those industrial metals on which AI infrastructure is highly dependent may be becoming an important part of the next chain of asset systems。

In a sense, the asset layer is evolving in a more strategic and programmable direction, based more on the real world. The assets of the future that really deserve to be denominated are perhaps not just “the easiest to digitize”, but are important assets on which the real economy has long depended。