Atomico 3 Breaks Into Mining Financing with Lithium Tokenization

A startup from the Southern Cone is rewriting the rules of the game in the Latin American mining sector, and it doesn't come from Silicon Valley or the world's major financial capitals

Atómico 3 is a technology and finance company legally based in Paraguay and operating in Argentina, which is committed to the tokenization of mining assets as an alternative way to finance lithium projects.

With a disruptive model based on blockchain and voluntary regulations, Atómico 3 proposes a radical solution to a structural problem: the lack of access to transparent capital for small and medium-sized mining companies, historically marginalized by large extractive corporations.

“We continue to finance mining with tools from the last century,” says its founder, Pablo Rutigliano, in conversation with this media outlet. “Our model allows any lithium project, even in its earliest stages, to raise funds through documented, traceable, and auditable tokens, without relying on large lobbies or opaque structures.”

The angle of the news: blockchain technology to finance lithium

Atómico 3's proposal is not just another cryptocurrency. It is a technical, legal, and financial system that directly connects mining projects with investors through a three-stage tokenization architecture: embryonic evaluation, international geological certification (such as the NI 43-101 standard), and commercial production.

Each token represents a phase of the project and is backed by registered mining rights and validated technical documents.

When lithium is produced and sold, the tokens are “burned” (removed from the system), which prevents speculation and ensures that the digital asset has a real correspondence with the physical resource.

The Mogna case: tokenization in San Juan, Argentina

One of the most emblematic pilot cases is the Mogna Project, in the salt flat of the same name in the province of San Juan.

There, Atómico 3 has already structured the embryonic stage of the project, with legal, geological, and environmental validation, and launched a tokenized financing round of more than USD 140 million.

“The token is not just an investment tool. It is an accounting unit that evolves with the real asset,” explains Rutigliano. “This allows mining companies to build equity and creditworthiness without having to cede control to international funds.”

From Polygon to Cardano: technological migration with a focus on traceability

Initially developed on the Polygon network, Atómico 3's infrastructure migrated in 2024 to the Cardano blockchain, one of the most robust and secure in the world. This network enables formal smart contracts, traceability of token origin and destination, and regulatory compliance with standards such as KYC (know your customer) and anti-money laundering, in accordance with CNV Resolution 1060/2025.

The fact: more than 90% of investors who have already purchased tokens have undergone identity verification processes, something unprecedented in the world of cryptocurrencies, and proof that tokenization can also be legal, transparent, and secure.

Lithium as a strategic axis and the new regional financial map

In a context of growing global demand for lithium for batteries and energy transition, Atómico 3 positions itself as an alternative to traditional extractivism, connecting underexplored wealth with decentralized capital.

Rutigliano sums it up clearly: “We have the resources, we have the technical knowledge, what was missing was the financial tool. And today that tool exists.”

With one foot in Paraguay, another in Argentina, and its sights set on the entire Lithium Triangle, Atómico 3 represents much more than a fintech: it is a declaration of economic sovereignty in blockchain language.

Atómico 3 is not only breaking into the world of mining finance, it is redefining it from the ground up. By integrating blockchain technology with a transparent and regulated legal framework, this Southern Cone startup offers a concrete alternative to the traditional extractive model, empowering small and medium-sized mining companies with early access to genuine and traceable capital.

Instead of relying on opaque financial intermediaries, Atómico 3 proposes a decentralized, audited, and sovereign path, in which lithium ceases to be just a strategic resource and also becomes a democratized digital asset.

Its model, anchored in Latin American territory and aligned with international standards, could mark the beginning of a new era for mining development in the region: more equitable, more transparent, and more connected to the challenges of the 21st century.