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What is Metal?

Metal (MTL) is a blockchain-based payments platform that rewards users with cryptocurrency for spending, sending, and receiving money. The project was founded in 2016 by Marshall Hayner and Glenn Mariën, two entrepreneurs with backgrounds in digital payments and cryptocurrency. Hayner previously worked on early Bitcoin payment initiatives and co-founded Trees of Knowledge, while Mariën brought technical experience from building consumer finance applications.

Together they set out to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the digital asset economy through the flagship Metal Pay mobile application. The MTL token launched in 2017 following a token generation event that raised significant capital during the ICO boom, positioning Metal among the early wave of crypto-payment hybrids competing with the likes of Abra and Circle.

Metal Pay became available to U.S. users as a licensed money transmitter, allowing peer-to-peer transfers with rewards paid out in MTL for qualifying transactions. The app integrates fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat conversion, letting users buy, sell, and trade a curated list of digital assets directly from a linked bank account. Metal's signature innovation is Proof-of-Processed Payments (PoPP), a mechanism that distributes MTL rewards to users who transact through the network, effectively using spending activity as a distribution channel rather than mining or staking.

In 2019 the team introduced Metallicus, a parent entity that expanded the scope of the project beyond consumer payments into enterprise blockchain infrastructure. Metallicus later launched Proton Chain (now XPR Network), a separate layer-1 blockchain focused on regulated payments and identity, which attracted attention for its KYC-enabled architecture and partnerships with payment processors.

This pivot created some ambiguity in the market about the long-term role of MTL versus XPR, with Metal Pay continuing to operate as the consumer-facing product while Metallicus pursued institutional clients. Notable milestones include MTL's listings on major exchanges such as Binance, Bittrex, and Upbit, which gave the token broad international liquidity despite Metal Pay's regional U.S. focus.

The project has faced challenges typical of crypto-payment firms, including evolving regulatory requirements around money transmission, competition from larger fintech players like PayPal and Cash App adding crypto features, and the general market volatility affecting adoption of crypto-linked cards and apps. Controversies have occasionally surrounded marketing claims during the 2017-2018 period and the complexity of communicating how PoPP rewards are funded and sustained.

The current state of the ecosystem reflects a project in transition: Metal Pay continues to serve existing customers in supported U.S. states, MTL remains actively traded on global exchanges, and Metallicus has shifted substantial developer resources toward Proton/XPR Network and banking-grade blockchain services. For holders, MTL functions primarily as a liquid, tradable asset with historical ties to payment rewards, while the broader Metallicus brand has moved upmarket toward compliant infrastructure.

Anyone evaluating Metal today should consider both the consumer app's ongoing operations and the parent company's strategic emphasis on enterprise rails, since these two narratives drive different kinds of demand for the token and the ecosystem as a whole.

Key Features of Metal

• Proof-of-Processed Payments: PoPP is Metal's proprietary reward mechanism that distributes MTL tokens to users for completing qualifying payments through Metal Pay. Unlike mining or staking, it ties token distribution directly to real economic activity, creating an incentive structure designed to drive adoption of the app.
• Integrated Fiat Gateway: Metal Pay connects directly to U.S. bank accounts, allowing users to move between dollars and a curated list of cryptocurrencies without leaving the app. This removes the friction of using separate on-ramps and off-ramps, making crypto more approachable for mainstream users.
• Consumer Payments App: The Metal Pay mobile application supports peer-to-peer transfers, crypto trading, and instant settlement between users. Its interface is designed to feel familiar to anyone who has used Venmo or Cash App, lowering the learning curve for first-time crypto participants.
• Regulated Money Transmission: Metallicus operates Metal Pay under U.S. money transmitter licenses, giving users regulatory clarity that many crypto-native wallets lack. This compliance-first posture makes the platform attractive for users who prioritize oversight and consumer protections.
• Cross-Exchange Liquidity: MTL is listed on major global exchanges including Binance, giving the token deep order books and broad accessibility. This liquidity allows traders and long-term holders to enter and exit positions efficiently across multiple jurisdictions and trading pairs.

Metal Use Cases

• Everyday Crypto Spending: Users can fund Metal Pay and send crypto-denominated payments to friends, family, or merchants in supported regions. The app abstracts away wallet addresses and gas fees, making crypto feel like a normal consumer payment rail.
• Low-Cost Remittances: Peer-to-peer transfers on Metal Pay can be cheaper and faster than traditional remittance services, particularly for smaller amounts. Combined with MTL rewards, senders can effectively offset part of their transfer costs through PoPP incentives.
• Earning Crypto Rewards: Active users accumulate MTL simply by transacting, similar to a credit card cashback program but paid in a crypto asset. Over time, these rewards can be held, traded, or converted back to fiat inside the same app.
• Fiat-Crypto Onboarding: Newcomers use Metal Pay as a simple bridge to enter the crypto market, buying assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum with a few taps. The regulated fiat gateway reduces the intimidation factor for users who have never used an exchange before.

Metal Tokenomics

Total Supply

MTL started with 66,588,888 tokens at genesis, a figure chosen during the original token design, but that figure is no longer a ceiling. Proposal MIP-001, passed by Metal DAO governance on 5 April 2024, raised the supply to 78,588,888 with two one-time grants and added a perpetual annual grant, so MTL now has no fixed maximum supply.

Circulating

Circulating supply grew over time as PoPP rewards, team allocations, and ecosystem distributions entered the market, and since 2024 the MIP-001 grants have added new MTL as well.

Utility

MTL serves as the reward asset within the Metal Pay ecosystem through Proof-of-Processed Payments and as a tradable digital asset on global exchanges. It provides holders with exposure to the broader Metallicus payments vision.

Emission

Since MIP-001, new MTL has been created through grants rather than a block emission schedule: two one-time grants of 6,000,000 MTL each, for Metal L2 incentives and for the network's sequencer, and a perpetual grant of 6,000,000 MTL a year to Metal DAO's elected core developer. Because the annual grant is a fixed amount, its share of supply falls each year; the proposal put it at 7.634% in the first year and 7.093% in the second.

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