In short
- Ten cows at Fazenda Engenho Velho in Imbituva, Paraná, supported a CPR-F loan of R$100,000, registered at B3.
- This is the first tokenized livestock collateral to be formally accepted on the Brazilian stock exchange.
- Each cow was given a unique blockchain ID, generated from AI sensor collar data collected by Cowmed, eliminating the need for in-person farm inspections and the steep discounts banks apply to livestock collateral.
Ten cows on a dairy farm in Paraná, Brazil, have just become the first livestock collateral to be formally registered on the country’s stock exchange. The deal – backed by blockchain-tracked animals wearing AI-powered sensor collars – is a real test of whether the crypto world’s obsession with tokenizing physical assets can actually help farmers who are running out of options.
Fazenda Engenho Velho, in Imbituva, used ten cows worth R$120,000 (about $23,310) to secure a CPR-F – a Cédula de Produto Rural Financeira, the Brazilian rural credit certificate that allows farmers to borrow against livestock or crops – worth R$100,000 (about $19,420) from BMP, a central bank-authorized direct credit company. BMP then sold these credit rights to Target FIDC (a fund that buys and monetizes receivables), which registered the entirety on B3, Brazil’s main stock exchange.
The cows were ‘tokenized’. Each animal received a unique encrypted digital ID, generated from health, behavioral and location data captured by smart collars built by Cowmed, an agricultural technology startup that monitors dairy herds using AI. Cowmed’s system cryptographically reels these data points into a tamper-resistant identification code linked directly to the credit contract – no farm inspection is required.
Banks routinely pledge livestock as collateral at as much as 60% discount. A cow worth R$20,000 ($2,380) on paper could end up being valued at R$8,000 ($1,600) for lending purposes, because lenders have no reliable way to track an animal’s condition or confirm that it is still alive. “Monitoring eliminates that uncertainty,” Humberto Brenner, director of Target FIDC, told Globo Rural. He also pointed out what is driving demand for the model: “Banks will increasingly demand real collateral and new information.”
The Brazilian agricultural environment sharpens the stakes. According to Serasa Experian, filings for bankruptcy protection in the agricultural sector – recuperação judicial, Brazil’s version of Chapter 11 – reached 1,990 in 2025, almost four times as many as in 2023. High interest rates, falling commodity prices and climate shocks have combined to create a sluggish credit crunch for the sector.
Cowmed CEO Thiago Martins described the operation as a direct response to that reality. “We have transformed the cow, a real and tangible asset, into a digital asset, supported by a unique code monitored in real time,” he told CNN Brazil. “This digitalization enables formal registration on B3 as financial security. The process gives the farmer an advantageous opportunity to obtain financing, opening a new collateral alternative at a time of strong credit constraints in agribusiness.”
On what the model offers producers: “The operation gives the farmer access to more attractive credit in terms of costs and limits. We want to connect the farmer and the financial institution with a new alternative.”
The deal fits into the broader RWA tokenization wave – the practice of converting physical assets into digital tokens usable as financial instruments – which has already reached more than $10 billion in total value captured on DeFi platforms through tokenized US Treasuries and real estate. Cowmed’s version happens to come with hooves.
The company currently monitors 100,000 cows across 1,200 farms in Brazil, the US, Canada, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, with a combined estimated value of R$2 billion (approximately $395.4 million). Martins predicts that 20% of that herd – R$400 million, or $77.6 million – could be pledged as token collateral within two years. Four other Brazilian farmers are already being evaluated by Target FIDC, and the companies are targeting R$5 million or about $971,000 in credits through this model by the end of 2026.