WOODS CROSS, Utah, Oct. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) ("Sky Quarry" or the "Company"), an integrated energy solutions company committed to transforming the waste asphalt shingle recycling industry, today announced significant progress in its partnership with Continuum Network, accelerating work that began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in August 2025.
Under the collaboration, Sky Quarry and Continuum are working to establish a clear framework for tokenizing energy-linked commodities and developing the digital infrastructure needed to support a modernized treasury model. Since signing the MOU, the parties have advanced both technical and operational workstreams and are preparing to launch the token creation process and functional exchange interface.
A New Model for Unlocking Energy Asset Value
Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization is the process of converting rights in tangible assets into secure digital tokens on a blockchain. For Sky Quarry, this means creating tokens that give investors clear claims tied directly to the underlying asset, rather than company stock.
“In the past, companies often sat on valuable assets and could only access them through traditional financing channels,” said Marcus Laun, President and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Sky Quarry. “What we’re doing with Continuum flips that model. Tokenization connects assets directly with investors in a way that’s transparent and efficient. These tokens aren’t company stock — they’re designed to be simple, easy to understand, and always backed by something real and verifiable. For Sky Quarry, we believe that it will open new and more flexible ways to raise capital and strengthen our balance sheet. We believe this approach puts us ahead of the curve in showing how traditional industries can use digital tools to unlock new opportunities.”
How It Works: Tokens vs. Equity
To ensure regulatory clarity, Sky Quarry will keep equity and token purchases entirely distinct. Investors can continue to purchase shares in Sky Quarry through standard equity transactions, giving them ownership rights in the company. Separately, the Company intends to create tokens tied to its oil assets.
We intend to sell these tokens in separate transactions, and they will be priced based on the current market price of oil. Sky Quarry also plans to use its own token treasury to create working capital by pledging these oil tokens to suppliers as collateral for crude oil purchases at its refinery. We believe that this strategy will allow the Company to leverage assets already on its balance sheet, creating liquidity without diluting our equity holders or incurring additional debt.
Market Context: A Global Opportunity
Energy reserves represent one of the largest pools of untapped asset value in the world. According to OPEC, global proven crude reserves totaled approximately 1.567 trillion barrels in 2024.¹ Independent and mid-cap oil producers — critical contributors to regional supply — often face tight liquidity constraints, particularly during commodity price volatility. Many of these companies are forced to keep reserves off balance sheet because traditional financing channels offer limited marketability.
We believe that tokenization addresses this challenge by converting these reserves into blockchain-based instruments. It allows fractional ownership, improves transparency, and introduces new forms of liquidity that were previously inaccessible.
Market Opportunity and Liquidity Potential
Applying even modest adoption rates to this model demonstrates the scale of the opportunity:
- If just 10–15% of producing reserves and 5% of undeveloped reserves were tokenized, it could unlock an estimated $750 billion to $1 trillion in global liquidity.
- Tokenized reserves can be structured to function similarly to other commodity-linked instruments, while enabling efficient fractionalization and direct investor access.
These estimates are derived from upstream asset valuations and current RWA tokenization comparables, underscoring the significant capital formation potential.
Use Case: Enhancing Working Capital
Traditional reserve-based lending (RBL) typically caps loan-to-value ratios at 30–40% of proved producing reserves.² This structure limits liquidity for producers. By tokenizing a portion of PDP reserves, producers can:
- Issue asset-backed tokens and broaden investor participation
- Potentially reduce financing costs
- Access instant secondary market liquidity
- Pledge tokens as collateral to support operations
For Sky Quarry, this means the potential to transform warehoused energy assets into a digital treasury — increasing financial flexibility without diluting shareholders or taking on conventional debt.
Key Market Drivers
- Tightening credit markets: In Q3 2025, 9.5% of U.S. banks reported tightening standards for commercial and industrial loans.³
- Mature infrastructure: Tokenization platforms now offer qualified custody, KYC/AML compliance, and smart contract auditing at institutional-grade levels.
- ESG alignment: Pairing reserve-backed tokens with verified carbon credits can attract sustainability-focused investors, opening new pools of capital.
U.S. Impact and Illustrative Scenario
If 1% of total U.S. proved reserves (approximately $400 billion) were tokenized, roughly $4 billion in new liquidity could be generated annually. At 10% adoption, this expands to $40–50 billion. Based on internal modeling, integrating verified carbon credit streams could raise combined digital asset capitalization to $60–70 billion over the next decade.
Implementation Considerations
Tokenization requires rigorous execution to ensure credibility and compliance:
- Accurate and transparent reserve auditing
- Robust legal structuring
- Clear regulatory frameworks
- Secure custody and investor protections
These factors are critical to mitigating valuation, governance, and compliance risks as the market scales.
References
¹ OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2025 – World Proven Crude Oil Reserves.
² Norton Rose Fulbright (2024). Reserve-Based Lending: Market Overview and Trends.
³ U.S. Federal Reserve (2025). Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS).
Continuum Network: Bringing Real Assets On-Chain
Continuum Network brings deep expertise in secure blockchain infrastructure, investor verification, and automated digital contracting to support transparent and compliant token issuance.
“The pace of progress demonstrates the strength of this collaboration,” said Mehdi Mehrtash, Founder of Continuum Network. “Our platform is purpose-built to securely support real-world assets with full transparency and auditability, without the complexity often associated with blockchain. For investors, that means no need to manage crypto wallets or pay transaction fees. Tokens can be held and traded simply, with full transparency. By removing that friction, we make it easier for institutions and individuals to participate with confidence.”
Strategic Vision for Sky Quarry
“The reason this is so compelling is that there are thousands of smaller companies operating across the energy industry,” said Marcus Laun. “Tokenization can unlock billions in additional working capital, making the industry more efficient and more profitable. We intend to market our tokenization products to the sector while using our own assets and operations as a real-world demonstration platform. We’ve already begun discussions with counterparties and are evaluating additional assets for tokenization. It’s a very exciting time.”
He continued, “We believe that the advantage of this strategy is that it isn’t dilutive to the share structure and will complement our broader digital asset treasury initiative and directly strengthen our balance sheet.”
About Continuum Network
Continuum Network is redefining enterprise blockchain with a gasless, public-permissioned EVM platform that removes the cost, complexity, and barriers to adoption of Decentralized Ledger Technology (DLT). By combining zero-trust architecture, decentralized identity (DID) standards, and asset-based encryption, Continuum enables organizations to verify identity, compliance, and data ownership without exposing sensitive information. Built for universal integration and global regulatory alignment, the platform empowers industries worldwide, from finance and energy to healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and government, to operate with transparency, accountability, and trust. Continuum Network delivers the secure and scalable foundation needed for a more connected and resilient digital economy.
About Sky Quarry Inc.
Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) and its subsidiaries are, collectively, an oil production, refining, and a development-stage environmental remediation company formed to deploy technologies to facilitate the recycling of waste asphalt shingles and remediation of oil-saturated sands and soils. Our waste-to-energy mission is to repurpose and upcycle millions of tons of asphalt shingle waste, diverting them from landfills. By doing so, we can contribute to improved waste management, promote resource efficiency, conserve natural resources, and reduce environmental impact. For more information, please visit skyquarry.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include ''forward-looking statements.'' All statements pertaining to our future financial and/or operating results, future events, or future developments may constitute forward-looking statements. The statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “look forward to,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “will,” “project,” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of our management, of which many are beyond our control. These are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and factors, including but not limited to those described in our disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or our achievements may (negatively or positively) vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. We neither intend, nor assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and the Company’s other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company’s Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2025, and all amendments thereto, as well as the Company’s Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on August 14, 2025. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained.
Investor Relations
Jennifer Standley
Director of Investor Relations
Ir@skyquarry.com
Company Website
