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Every Cargo vault share is backed by one unit of a real-world asset that already exists, sits in a named warehouse or vault, and has been signed for by an independent collateral manager. Worked examples on this page are from the Genesis Vault: West African Grade 1 cocoa, priced off ICE London Cocoa, issued as cvCOCOA.

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What Stands Behind a Share

Three layers: the shares on-chain, the legal title and pledge, and the physical goods under independent control.
A bankruptcy-remote Vault SPV owns every receipted lot from the moment of receipt. It has no other business and no other creditors, and every contract carries non-petition and limited-recourse terms.
As a backstop, the goods are pledged with dispossession to the collateral manager as third-party holder, and the pledge is registered. One pledge, one security agent, for all holders.
An independent collateral manager controls the warehouse or vault and releases goods only against payment.
An independent inspector weighs and grades every lot (Vallis in the Genesis Vault). Lot IDs, weights and grades are public, and the weekly stock report is hashed on-chain.
Originators keep 10% of every lot as subordinated shares, released only when the lot is sold and reconciles. Senior cover at origination is 111%.
All-risks stock insurance on every lot, paid by the originator until the goods are sold.

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The Mint

1

Deliver

A lot of at least the vault’s minimum size enters the warehouse (25 t in the Genesis Vault).
2

Receipt

The collateral manager weighs, grades and samples it and issues a receipt in the SPV’s name (for cocoa: moisture, cut test and bean count; for gold: fineness and weight).
3

Mint 1:1

Shares are minted per unit: 90% senior, held for sale; 10% subordinated, held for the originator.
4

List

Lot ID, quantity, grade, receipt, originator and reserve price are published before the next batch window.
The Backing Rule. Supply can never exceed receipted units in custody, and no unit can count both as stock and as sale proceeds. The minting guard enforces this on-chain; the weekly stock report reconciles it. Legal Opinions. Counsel give opinions on title, the pledge and enforcement before a vault’s first mint. Investors’ counsel can review them in the data room. Each vault’s NAV starts from a published reference price for the asset, less the fixed costs of getting it to a buyer, in USD:

NAV per Share = (Reference Price − Levies − Delivery Costs) ÷ FX

The reference is an exchange settlement price (ICE for cocoa, coffee and sugar) or a benchmark such as LBMA for gold.

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In the Genesis Vault: ICE London Cocoa

NAV follows the ICE London Cocoa settlement price for West African Grade 1 beans, less delivery costs, converted from GBP to USD. At 9 Oct 2026, NAV was $5.277 per share (per kg).
Bar chart: farmgate $4.522, receipted cost $4.793 and NAV $5.277 per kg, with a 10.1% spread between receipted cost and NAVBar chart: farmgate $4.522, receipted cost $4.793 and NAV $5.277 per kg, with a 10.1% spread between receipted cost and NAV

Genesis Vault, prices of 9 Oct 2026. NAV is restruck every day.

The trade it captures, per kilogram: farmgate $4.522** → receipted cost **$4.793 → NAV $5.277. The 10.1% spread is the margin that normally goes to whoever exports. iNAV. Between daily fixes, iNAV moves with ICE London Cocoa in real time: every minute by API and WebSocket, every 15 minutes on-chain during market hours. Creations and redemptions always strike at NAV.

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Price Guards

Every vault’s NAV has the same four guards. Genesis Vault values shown: Each new vault publishes its own thresholds in its term sheet.

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Redemption and Exit

Anyone can create near NAV and redeem near NAV, so a premium or discount gets arbitraged away. What remains is the asset price, which market makers hedge on ICE London Cocoa (10,000 shares ≈ one 10 t lot), and credit, which the structure bounds.
Credit Floor, Genesis Vault. If the cocoa ever had to be sold locally at the exporter bid ($4.70–$4.87 per kg) instead of at NAV, a senior share would still be covered at 98.9%–102.5% of NAV, thanks to the 10% subordination.