The startup is pitching WTIC as a physically backed, round-the-clock oil token tied to West Texas Intermediate, while legal enforceability, liquidity and governance questions remain in focus.
Energy Substantiation is pressing ahead with WTIC, a token designed to represent one barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude and give investors round-the-clock access to oil exposure through blockchain rails rather than futures markets. The company is pitching the product as physically backed crude rather than a derivatives-based instrument, in contrast with oil ETFs and crypto perpetuals, and says holders can redeem at the daily spot closing price even though it does not expect many investors to take physical delivery. The token’s on-chain value is currently about $80,000, and Energy Substantiation expects WTIC to debut on LMAX with an additional $1 million in liquidity later on. JP Thieriot, the company’s co-founder, said the startup is working with about a dozen commodities firms and oil suppliers, including one major trading house, and is also in talks with other exchanges and market makers. WTIC is designed to track WTI through a structure in which suppliers contribute barrels via a reverse Dutch auction at a discount to the day’s market price, allowing producers to monetize operational inventories such as pipeline line fill and tank bottoms. Energy Substantiation says that design lets the underlying oil be treated as a spot commodity rather than a derivative, which it argues would mean lighter regulation. Analysts say the bigger challenge is whether the company can attract energy-market participants, sustain liquidity and ensure that blockchain ownership is legally enforceable off-chain rather than amounting to an IOU. The timing comes as demand rises for 24/7 oil exposure during periods of geopolitical stress. Tokenized WTI and Brent perpetual futures on Hyperliquid have seen strong activity, while CME plans to launch 24-hour, seven-days-a-week trading in new, smaller crude futures by late August. Energy Substantiation also plans to introduce tokens backed by Brent crude and Henry Hub natural gas later this year. The project has also drawn scrutiny over Wayne Christian, a sitting member of the Texas agency that regulates oil and gas production, serving on Energy Substantiation’s advisory board and emailing prospective investors ahead of the launch, as previously reported by the Texas Tribune.