WASHINGTON — A U.S. fusion startup, Marathon Fusion, claims it has produced gold from mercury this month using nuclear transmutation—a process distinct from chemical reactions.
Marathon's research paper details how high-energy neutrons from a deuterium-tritium fusion reaction irradiate mercury-198, producing a radioactive isotope that decays into stable gold-197. While the underlying nuclear process is scientifically plausible, commercial viability remains unproven.
Nikos Kavalis, managing director at precious metals research firm Metals Focus, said, "We are nowhere near a stage where we can talk about production significance."
Marathon research engineer Jake Harter stated the current quantities produced are "microscopic." The company projects producing two tonnes of gold per gigawatt of thermal fusion at a future fusion power plant—not current output. Marathon claims its current production rate is 10 times higher than CERN's record: the ALICE experiment from 2015 to 2018 produced an estimated 29 picograms of gold nuclei that existed only fractions of a second before being destroyed in collisions.
The development has renewed discussion around gold's long-term scarcity. Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong drew a direct comparison to Bitcoin, stating, "You can't invent anything that will increase Bitcoin supply. There will only ever be 21M."
That fixed supply represents Bitcoin's core advantage: a programmed scarcity that no lab process can replicate. For investors holding long-dated positions, the contrast is stark. Gold's scarcity is physical and can be overcome by technology. Bitcoin's is mathematical and immutable.
Marathon co-founder and CEO Kyle Schiller noted significant interest from jewelers, expecting the newly created gold will primarily be used as a store of value similar to traditionally mined gold.
