Agrotoken set for Polkadot launch, enabling tokenization of agro commodities

Visa-backed project to build Polkadot parachain that tokenizes soybeans, corn and wheat. Farmers, businesses and financial institutions can easily trade, save, invest and transact with Agrotokens at any Visa point-of-sale.

Agrotoken↗, the first global tokenization infrastructure for agricultural commodities, has announced its plans to launch on Polkadot↗, the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. Agrotoken will bid for a parachain slot on the network, with support from the Substrate Builders Program↗. 

Agrotoken is a digital platform that issues stablecoins with collateral in grains and food, and the value of each token reflects the price of its respective commodity - soybeans, corn or wheat. With the direct backing of the grains, farmers, businesses, and financial institutions can transact via Agrotoken’s digital platform. To date, Agrotoken has tokenized $105 million worth of grains - the equivalent of 124,352 tonnes of soy, 94,423 tonnes of corn and 13,818 tonnes of wheat.

Additional uses cases for Agrotoken include:

• Exchanging tokens for supplies, machinery or fuel
• Transacting with Agrotoken-backed Visa credit or debit cards
• Protecting against local currency disruption, such as hyperinflation
• Using the tokens as collateral for either business or individual loans

Ariel Scaliter, CTO and Co-founder of Agrotoken, said: "We are excited to join forces with Polkadot for its innovative technology and access to its large community, in order to achieve the challenge of generating new business and milestones. Agrotoken’s motto is to make natural resources accessible for everyone. Our vision is to become a global infrastructure of real assets tokenization, developing relationships with companies and enterprises to help them move their current technology towards a more traceable, secure, and auditable system that enables new revenue streams and business opportunities." 

To ensure a smooth payment experience for both token holders and merchants, Agrotoken partnered with Visa, an investor in the company, to jointly create a custom payment method. Users can use their Agrotoken card as a form of debit or credit payment, with the stablecoins supported in any store or point of sale system (POS) that accepts Visa.

Transparency in a trillion-dollar industry

Björn Wagner, CEO of Parity Technologies, a leading contributor to Polkadot, said: “Agrotoken has found a way to revolutionize the oldest industry in the world, showing that Web3 is for everyone. I’m thrilled that Agrotoken, a leader in the real world asset space, is joining the Polkadot ecosystem. By digitizing agrocommodities, we can open up new ways to exchange value - bringing much needed transparency to a trillion-dollar industry.”

By building a Layer-1 parachain on Polkadot, Agrotoken will further its multi-chain mission by being open to collaboration with other projects in the ecosystem. Builders can use the Agrotoken API to build new products, and all transactions on Agrotoken will be secured on-chain to ensure transparency and track the asset’s origin.  

Agrotoken is firmly committed to sustainability initiatives. By bringing complete transparency to an asset’s origin, Agrotoken avoids corrupt or non-sustainable practices. Agrotoken is focused on building enterprise partnerships, with its global tokenization infrastructure enabling businesses across industries to benefit from more traceable, secure, auditable technology, while opening up new revenue streams. 

Agrotoken is now active in two of the biggest markets for commodities, Argentina and Brazil. In the medium term, Agrotoken plans to expand globally, with its U.S. launch planned for 2024. 

About Agrotoken
Agrotoken is the first global tokenization infrastructure that aims to make the value of natural resources accessible to everyone, to contribute to the development of a fairer and more equitable economic system, by creating the world’s most real and reliable tokens. It is made up of a team of professionals who are passionate about the land and the new digital economy. We are the creators of the first grain-backed assets for saving and transacting. Agrotoken is creating the next generation of agribusiness in the world. Learn more at agrotoken.com↗

About Polkadot
Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. It enables Web3’s biggest innovators to get their ideas to market fast, with flexible costs and token options. By making blockchain technology secure, composable, flexible, efficient, and cost-effective, Polkadot is powering the movement for a better web. For more information, visit polkadot.network↗