The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has authorized Commodity Chain Ltd to launch a platform for trading tokenized real-world assets (RWA). The first project will digitize grain in elevators to issue loans to farmers.
What happened
The region's first platform for tokenizing physical assets will begin operating within the FinTech Lab regulatory sandbox. This was reported by the official AIFC channel.
The license allows Commodity Chain Ltd to convert real-world assets into digital tokens and organize their circulation in a regulated environment. Agriculture was chosen as the starting direction—specifically, the tokenization of grain stored in modernized elevators.
Country and market
Kazakhstan is testing infrastructure at the intersection of the agricultural sector and fintech. The project combines blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and elements of artificial intelligence.
The platform's core concept is the "transparent elevator." Temperature and humidity sensors, along with automatic scales, transmit data on the condition and volume of the grain in real time. This ensures that the issued digital token is strictly tied to a specific physical volume of the harvest, and its preservation is hardware-verified.
Why it matters
A new liquidity management tool is being created for farmers. Tokens backed by real grain can be used as collateral to obtain short-term financing.
When market prices for the harvest rise, the grain or the tokens themselves are sold. Smart contracts automatically direct a portion of the funds to repay the loan, while the remaining profit is transferred to the asset owner.
Converting the physical harvest into smart contracts reduces risks for creditors and accelerates agribusinesses' access to working capital without complex paperwork.
What's next
For now, the project is operating in the sandbox's test mode. If successful and the security of settlements is confirmed, the model is planned to be scaled to other regions of Kazakhstan, foreign markets, and new categories of physical assets.