Definition ∞ Commodity Backed Lending involves securing loans with physical or digital representations of commodities as collateral. In the context of digital assets, this refers to borrowing or lending protocols where tokens representing real-world assets like gold, silver, or other raw materials serve as security. This mechanism links traditional asset classes with decentralized finance, offering a stable and tangible basis for credit. It provides a means to access liquidity without liquidating underlying commodity holdings.
Context ∞ The discussion around commodity backed lending highlights its potential to bridge traditional finance with decentralized markets, offering new avenues for liquidity and asset utilization. A key debate involves the legal and logistical challenges of securely tokenizing and managing physical commodities as collateral, including accurate valuation and custody. Future developments will likely focus on robust oracle solutions for real-time pricing and improved legal frameworks to support the verifiable ownership and transfer of these tokenized assets.