Russia’s Sberbank Launches Blockchain-powered Cocoa Index Token on Moscow Exchange

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has launched a blockchain technology-powered token that tracks global cocoa prices.

The bank’s coin is a so-called digital financial asset (DFA). Sberbank said its token price was “tied to the international price of cocoa” through “a cash-settled futures contract” on the Moscow Exchange.

The Russian media outlet RBC reported that Sberbank says its coin allows customers access to the “international agricultural market.”

Russian banks have flocked to the DFA sector in recent years, with the crypto- and blockchain-keen Sberbank leading the way.

Russian law defines DFAs as “tokenized versions of real assets,” which are uniformly issued using blockchain technology.

While in the past, the term was ambiguous, legislators have been careful to explain that DFAs do not refer to “cryptocurrencies or other tokens that are traded on crypto exchanges.”

The Russian Central Bank is the sole regulator of the DFAs market. The bank polices would-be issuers, and can issue them with operating permits.

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While most issuers are banks, such as Alfa-Bank, a smaller number of commodities traders and mining exploration firms have also launched their own DFA tokens.

Unlike tokenized real world assets (RWAs), DFAs make use of private blockchain networks.

Sberbank claimed that its coin could help protect Russian investor “against a possible weakening of the ruble.”

It noted that it could perform this function by ensuring its token price “includes the currency revaluation of the underlying asset.”

It suggested that companies that use cocoa as a raw material could use its DFA “to hedge the risks of rising prices” in the agricultural sector.

“We have developed a cocoa DFA that combines the traditional appeal of commodity markets and innovative technologies.”

The bank said that each token would be worth “one kilogram of cocoa.” It added that only companies and qualified investors would be able to buy the coin.

The firm will initially offer its “cocoa index DFA” for “a period of up to four months,” but would allow traders to apply for “early redemption.”

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The DFAs market grew x4 in 2024, Sberbank has noted. The bank also claimed in February this year that the market is currently worth 684 billion rubles (over $8.3 billion).

Russian banks say that 98% of DFAs are “debt tokens,” but add that “hybrid and index instruments” are also making their debuts.

Banks have also begun offering a smaller range of gasoline and diesel fuel price-themed DFAs.

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