NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 13, 2026 / As geopolitical tensions, sanctions enforcement, and shifting trade alliances continue to reshape global oil and gas markets, protecting the enormous financial value embedded in energy supply chains has become an increasing priority. SMX (Security Matters) PLC (NASDAQ:SMX) is helping address this challenge through its molecular traceability technology, which enables oil, fuels, and other energy materials to carry a verifiable identity as they move through complex global supply networks.

Each year, trillions of dollars in crude oil, refined fuels, and petrochemical products move through a vast international infrastructure of wells, pipelines, refineries, tankers, storage terminals, and trading hubs. Within this highly interconnected system, verifying the origin, authenticity, and handling of these materials is becoming increasingly important as regulatory oversight grows and supply chains become more complex.

A new generation of verification tools is emerging to meet this need by attaching identity directly to the materials themselves.

SMX has developed a molecular traceability platform that embeds invisible molecular markers into physical commodities. Once applied, these markers allow materials such as crude oil, refined fuels, petrochemicals, and other industrial inputs to carry a durable and verifiable identity throughout their entire lifecycle-from extraction and transportation to refining, blending, storage, and final delivery.

This approach represents a shift away from traditional verification systems that rely heavily on documentation. Historically, commodity markets have depended on paperwork, certificates, and digital records that travel separately from the physical materials they describe. In complex global trading environments, those records can sometimes become altered, misplaced, or disconnected from the commodities themselves.

By embedding identifiers at the molecular level, SMX's technology allows participants across the energy ecosystem to confirm origin and monitor chain-of-custody with greater certainty. The molecular markers are linked to a secure digital platform that records the lifecycle of the material, creating a comprehensive and verifiable audit trail across the supply chain.

For producers, refiners, traders, and investors, the implications are significant. The ability to authenticate commodities and verify their movement through international markets can help reduce fraud, limit exposure to sanctions violations, and strengthen confidence in high-value energy transactions.

Even small uncertainties about a shipment's origin or handling can introduce financial risk in markets where cargoes often change hands multiple times before reaching end users. Verification systems that connect identity directly to the material itself provide an additional safeguard against substitution, mislabeling, and supply-chain manipulation.

As regulatory expectations grow around sanctions enforcement, carbon reporting, and supply-chain transparency, technologies capable of verifying the provenance of physical materials are becoming increasingly important to global trade.

While the energy sector represents a major application for this technology, its potential extends far beyond oil and gas.

SMX's molecular traceability platform can be applied across a wide range of industries where origin verification and authenticity are essential, including precious metals and mining, industrial metals such as steel and aluminum, plastics and circular materials, industrial rubber, luxury goods and textiles, agricultural commodities, and semiconductors and electronics.

By linking molecular identifiers embedded in physical materials with digital verification systems, the platform creates what the company describes as a physical-to-digital identity layer for global commerce. This capability allows stakeholders-from producers and manufacturers to regulators and financial institutions-to verify provenance, track transformations during processing, and maintain reliable records across complex supply networks.

As geopolitical uncertainty and regulatory pressure continue to reshape global markets, technologies that enhance transparency, protect asset value, and secure supply chains are increasingly becoming an important component of the infrastructure supporting international trade.

ABOUT SMX (SECURITY MATTERS) PLC

SMX (Security Matters) PLC (NASDAQ:SMX) develops molecular traceability and material authentication technologies designed to strengthen supply-chain transparency and integrity across global industries. Its platform embeds invisible molecular markers directly into physical materials-including solids, liquids, and gases-allowing them to carry a persistent identity that can be detected and verified throughout their lifecycle.

Combined with proprietary reader systems and a secure digital verification infrastructure, the technology enables organizations to maintain auditable records of origin, composition, and supply-chain history. These capabilities support authentication, regulatory compliance, sustainability reporting, recycling verification, and circular-economy initiatives across sectors including energy, metals and mining, plastics and circular materials, industrial rubber, semiconductors, textiles, luxury goods, and agriculture.

Contact: Jeremy Murphy/ jeremy@360bespoke.com

SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited