(Rejected) Atomyze Issues Nornickel-produced Palladium-backed Digital Tokens in Russia

Atomyze, a tokenization startup owned by Russian mining and smelting giant Nornickel, has received the green light to issue Nornickel-produced palladium-backed digital tokens in Russia, Reuters reported on July 18.

Vladimir Potanin, the largest shareholder of metals producer Nornickel's Interros Group and an investor in Atomyze, said:"The emergence of Russia's first industrial token marks the entry of the Russian economy into a new period - the era of tokenisation."

The company uses Hyperledger Fabric-based blockchain technology to legally issue tokens and provide wallets to Russian users.

Vladimir Potaninb stated that the token can be used to maximize user anonymity, as well as security, as it is protected by physical assets,

In 2020, Russia passed a law allowing licensed companies to issue digital assets. Businesses need to be registered with the Bank of Russia, meet certain criteria and report to regulators.

Atomyze applied for the license along with several other companies, including Sberbank, Russia's largest retail bank.

Sberbank, a Russian majority state-owned bank, announced that it has conducted the first digital financial asset transaction on its own platform.

The lender said that through the use of its smart contract-based blockchain platform launched in March, it has carried out the first transaction, with its subsidiary, Sber Factoring, executing a 1 billion rouble (about $16 million) whose issuance is set to mature in the next three months.

The company has also said it hopes to expand overseas markets for similar tokens, and is currently applying for licenses in Switzerland and the United States.

As reported by Blockchain.News on July 9, Russian lawmakers were mulling the idea that the government could create a cryptocurrency trading platform that will be an offshoot of the Moscow Stock Exchange.