NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 16, 2025 / Gold does not change easily. Its rules, rituals, and trust frameworks have been built over centuries, reinforced by habit as much as by law. When gold markets do shift, it is rarely because of rhetoric or regulation. They move when infrastructure evolves so decisively that the old way of doing things starts to look inefficient by comparison. That is what is happening now, and Dubai is at the center of it.

For more than twenty years, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has invested in becoming a global nexus for precious metals. Vaults, exchanges, refiners, and logistics networks were assembled patiently, piece by piece. But the real inflection point did not arrive with scale alone. It arrived when DMCC embraced a fundamentally different approach to trust, one that embeds verification directly into the material itself.

That shift became possible through SMX's (NASDAQ: SMX) molecular identity technology. By enabling gold to carry a permanent, non-removable identity at the molecular level, SMX introduced a new concept to precious metals markets. Gold no longer needs to be explained through paperwork or defended through audits. Its authenticity becomes intrinsic. Origin, purity, and lifecycle history travel with the metal, regardless of how many times it is refined, transported, or traded.

For a market long dependent on documentation, that is a structural change.

From Paper Trust to Physical Proof

Historically, gold verification has relied on a patchwork of certificates, chain-of-custody records, and third-party assurances. Those systems worked when supply chains were shorter and market participants fewer. As gold flows expanded across continents and through increasingly complex intermediaries, gaps emerged. Documentation could lag. Records could fragment. Trust became something traders inferred rather than confirmed.

Dubai saw the limitation clearly. A modern trading hub cannot scale indefinitely on assumptions. It requires proof that is durable, portable, and universally interpretable. Molecular identity provided exactly that.

By embedding verification into the gold itself, SMX's technology removes ambiguity at its source. The material no longer depends on external records to establish its legitimacy. The identity persists through melting, recasting, and storage. This is not a compliance overlay. It is a redesign of how trust functions inside the commodity.

That is why Dubai did not position itself merely as a venue for trading verified gold. It positioned itself as a verification authority. The distinction matters. Marketplaces host volume. Authorities define standards.

A Signal the Market Could Not Ignore

The implications of this model were on full display at the DMCC Precious Metals Conference, where SMX demonstrated how embedded identity reshapes the mechanics of the gold trade. When verification is inseparable from the material, several things change at once. Traders gain immediate transparency. Regulators gain clarity without adding friction. Exchanges benefit from cleaner liquidity because uncertainty no longer shadows each transaction.

No document, however well intentioned, can replicate the precision of identity that physically travels with the asset. That realization resonated across the room, and beyond it. The market understood that Dubai was no longer refining gold alone. It was refining trust.

SMX's broader expansion strategy supports that vision. With financial architecture in place to scale molecular identity across metals markets, the company is positioned to meet growing global demand for verified materials. The alignment between infrastructure, technology, and capital gives this shift durability. It is not experimental. It is operational.

Why Dubai's Model Scales

Dubai's geographic role strengthens the impact of this approach. As a crossroads for material flows from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, the region faces verification challenges that single-origin hubs do not. Competing certification regimes and inconsistent standards create friction elsewhere. Dubai's solution avoids that trap.

Molecular identity does not replace existing standards. It reinforces them. It acts as a neutral layer that transcends jurisdiction while remaining compatible with regulatory frameworks. That universality is what allows the model to scale across borders without becoming entangled in politics or regional preferences.

The interest from industry participants, including initiatives tied to authenticated gold products, underscores the commercial logic. When a gold bar carries its full lifecycle history at the molecular level, it becomes more than a commodity unit. It becomes a verified asset. Pricing becomes more precise. Risk premiums compress. Confidence replaces conjecture.

Authenticity, in this context, is not an ethical talking point. It is a competitive advantage.

Elevating Markets, Not Controlling Them

Dubai's approach is not about dominating gold markets through policy or geography. It is about elevating them commercially. By creating an environment where verified material flows cleanly and consistently, the region attracts liquidity organically. Traders gravitate toward systems that reduce uncertainty and accelerate settlement.

This is why the shift matters beyond Dubai. Once one hub demonstrates that verification can be embedded, permanent, and scalable, the rest of the market must respond. Not because it is forced to, but because the alternative starts to look outdated.

The future of precious metals will not be defined by larger vaults or thicker compliance manuals. It will be defined by materials that can prove what they are, where they came from, and how they moved, without debate. Dubai understood that early. SMX made it technically possible.

Gold markets do not pivot when someone demands change. They pivot when someone shows a better way to operate. That moment has arrived, and the ripple effects are just beginning.

About SMX

As global businesses face new and complex challenges relating to carbon neutrality and meeting new governmental and regional regulations and standards, SMX is able to offer players along the value chain access to its marking, tracking, measuring and digital platform technology to transition more successfully to a low-carbon economy.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intends," "may," "will," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example: matters relating to the Company's fight against abusive and possibly illegal trading tactics against the Company's stock; successful launch and implementation of SMX's joint projects with manufacturers and other supply chain participants of steel, rubber and other materials; changes in SMX's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; SMX's ability to develop and launch new products and services, including its planned Plastic Cycle Token; SMX's ability to successfully and efficiently integrate future expansion plans and opportunities; SMX's ability to grow its business in a cost-effective manner; SMX's product development timeline and estimated research and development costs; the implementation, market acceptance and success of SMX's business model; developments and projections relating to SMX's competitors and industry; and SMX's approach and goals with respect to technology. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing views as of any subsequent date, and no obligation is undertaken to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the ability to maintain the listing of the Company's shares on Nasdaq; changes in applicable laws or regulations; any lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMX's business; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and the possibility of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which SMX operates; the risk that SMX and its current and future collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize SMX's products or services, or experience significant delays in doing so; the risk that the Company may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that the Company will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that the Company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; the risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to fully and timely meet their obligations; the risk that SMX is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; the possibility that SMX may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties described in SMX's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: info@securitymattersltd.com

SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited