Key facts
- Ten dairy cows in Paraná, Brazil, were tokenized to back a R$100,000 loan.
- This is the first time tokenized livestock has been formally accepted as collateral on Brazil's B3 stock exchange.
- Each cow received a unique blockchain ID generated from AI-sensor collar data.
- The system aims to eliminate the need for in-person farm inspections and reduce collateral discounts.
- The initiative addresses a credit emergency in Brazil's agribusiness sector.
Ten dairy cows at Fazenda Engenho Velho in Paraná, Brazil, have been tokenized with unique blockchain IDs to secure a R$100,000 loan, marking the first time tokenized livestock has been formally accepted as collateral on Brazil's B3 stock exchange. The deal was structured by Brazilian investment fund Target FIDC, with each cow receiving a digital token linked to an encrypted identity monitored by AI-powered smart collars from agriculture tech company Cowmed. This innovation aims to provide farmers with expanded access to credit, particularly as Brazil's agribusiness sector faces a credit emergency with a significant increase in bankruptcy protection requests. Traditional livestock collateral often faces steep discounts from banks due to verification challenges, which this real-time monitoring system seeks to overcome. Cowmed currently monitors approximately 100,000 dairy cows across 1,000 farms, with an estimated herd value of R$2 billion, and projects that 20% of this herd could be pledged as tokenized collateral within two years.