“Nornickel introduced
Atomyze platform based on Hyperledger blockchain in February 2020, and in December the first tokens were issued on it. In early 2021, ETC, based on palladium tokens from Nornickel, began trading in Germany on the stock exchange Deutsche Börse.
Vladimir Gorgadze, head of tokenization project at IBM Blockchain Day said that the cooperation between Nornickel and IBM in development of blockchain projects has advanced greatly in recent years and joint initiatives look “very promising” both in Russia and abroad.
Atomyze, the world’s first large-scale initiative to create a platform for the tokenization of various assets. It will reduce reputational risks by confirming the origin of raw materials, as well as opening up the possibility of monetizing long-term contracts.
About tokenization
The main advantages of blockchain for Nornickel are decentralization and no need for trust. This makes it possible to involve various market participants, including competing organizations, in work on tokenization projects. One of the main goals of tokenization projects is to make investments in metals, metal-based products and contracts between market participants available to a wide range of individuals, including retail investors. This will be good for both the market and Nornickel.
Through tokenization, the company gets access to non-debt financing on good terms and expands the range of products it sells. “Nornickel will receive the full value of the sold metal, as well as additional income on commissions through transactions with tokens on the platform. The company will be able to eliminate intermediaries, reduce transaction costs, and optimize and digitize many processes.
The pilot version of Atomyze’s tokenization platform has already been tested by Nornickel among the company’s partners, who have expressed their approval of the project. The main areas that the company implements within the platform:
-
Tokenization of sales contracts – digitization of sales with the ability to assign rights.
In addition, Nornickel is planning to launch another project in Russia: tokens based on services provided by the company’s suppliers.
“Service-based tokens are an innovation that we would like to try out in the Russian market.. Providers will document their services not only in the contract. This contract can be crushed, easily exchanged, monetized. This will lead to market flexibility, increase its efficiency and it will be a lever for companies to promote the value of products,” said Gorgadze.
About platform choice
Before deciding on the IBM Hyperledger solution, Nornickel looked at the various options it had at the time. Gorgadze said:
“Despite the emergence of new blockchains, even today we are confident in our choice. Hyperledger technology is very flexible and allows us to implement many of the tools we are interested in. It’s actually a blockchain builder that allows you to create the blockchain that your business needs. It allows for flexible development of smart contracts. We are now exploring other smart contracts for other business applications, and we see that it can all be implemented on the Hyperledger platform. The platform language allows you to do a lot of different things that either you can’t do on other platforms, or it would be hard to implement.
Hyperledger enables greater transaction speed and scalability. This is especially relevant in the area of finance, where Nornickel also plans to apply the technology. In particular, the need for fast payments can be easily implemented on the platform. Because of all these advantages, the company chose Hyperledger.
About blockchain
In a presentation, the tokenization project manager noted that finding blockchain experts is difficult because it’s an emerging industry:
“The technology, as is always the case, is evolving faster than the range of specialists needed. That’s why you need to train specialists and run as fast as you can to keep up with the times.
In June 2019, it was announced that MIPT would be launching a
Blockchain master’s program supported by IBM and Nornickel. Gorgadze commented on the initiative and said that the institute is in its second year, and together with the companies has managed to prepare “very good students.
“The students are promising; over time, the initiative may grow into a department that will train graduate students and conduct research. We see great potential in the latter direction, because there are so many things in technology that require good, thorough research and documentation of processes. We are also open to cooperation with other universities in Russia and abroad.
Gorgadze also commented on how blockchain could be used for mining applications in Russia. First of all, the technology will be used in the supply chain, where blockchain will provide transparency for all participants. This will help eliminate unfair competition among suppliers, as well as make it easier to evaluate product quality and pricing, and make it easier for companies to monitor suppliers and their own resources.
Blockchain will open new opportunities for global financial markets by
It will make international transfers, settlements, and effects on other financial
instruments.