Dazzling Decentralization: Russia's Largest Bank Sparkles With Diamond Token Offering

At more than 600 million carats, Russia has the largest diamond reserves in the world, and now its largest financial institution has issued the first tokenized offering of the gemstone in the country.

Expobank issued the tokens on the Multichain blockchain, which allows for the creation and operation of multiple independent blockchains within a single network. The move is an effort to democratize gemstone investments, opening the door to small investors.

Expobank issued 5,000 tokens for a three-carat diamond valued at 9 million rubles ($97,500). Each token sold for less than $20, or less than 1/5000 of the total. The tokens were sold to authorized investors who will be repaid in November 2026.

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Expobank will use a website that rates diamonds based on their size, purity, shape and fluorescence to help calculate the cash-out price of the tokens. A diamond price index will be used to calculate the price if the website option isn't available.

Diamonds — both natural and synthetic — are a mineral composed of pure carbon. While most people think of diamonds being used for jewelry, they are the hardest material on earth and are well-suited for industrial applications such as cutting and polishing other materials, drilling and enhancing the performance of high-quality speakers.

Although the demand for synthetic diamonds has increased, it's still behind natural diamonds, and their value isn't maintained over time like that of natural diamonds — only 16% of women believe that lab-grown diamonds are real, according to Allied Market Research.

The global diamond market, valued at $100.4 billion in 2022, is projected to reach $155 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, Allied reports.

Investors own just 1% of the diamond market compared with 32% of the gold market, 19% of the silver market and 17% of the platinum market.

While the Expobank offer is closed, it's not too late for you to get in on investing in the precious gemstone. Diamond Standard Co. created Diamond Standard Coins and Diamond Standard Bars that contain a certain number of diamonds. The value of every coin and bar is equal to all other coins and bars created at the same time.

In doing so, Diamond Standard made diamonds fungible, allowing investors to trade diamonds just like they would gold, stocks or any other asset.