diff --git a/packages/dataverse/src/Atom.ts b/packages/dataverse/src/Atom.ts
index af7945a..698ec6a 100644
--- a/packages/dataverse/src/Atom.ts
+++ b/packages/dataverse/src/Atom.ts
@@ -227,6 +227,8 @@ export const val = <P>(
   ? T
   : P extends IDerivation<infer T>
   ? T
+  : P extends undefined | null
+  ? P
   : unknown => {
   if (isPointer(pointerOrDerivationOrPlainValue)) {
     return valueDerivation(