A Conversation with Artem Lisovskiy
Regular readers will know that I plan to run a series of interviews highlighting how regional champions are eroding the market share of the ABCD++ group of agricommodity trading companies. I also plan a series of interviews to help me update my sugar book. However, as the Brazilians like to say, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him you have a plan.”
I have happily been diverted into a new area for me: trade finance. I was curious about how digitalisation, through stablecoins and tokens, could improve payment systems and attract new investors to the sector. During my recent conversation with Rémi Burdairon, it resonated when Rémi mentioned that finance is now the most valuable commodity.
I discussed it with my son, who suggested I speak to Artem Lisovskiy, a former Glencore colleague of his who recently founded TradeOn, a hybrid operation aiming to sit at the intersection of trading, trade finance, and supply chain partnerships.
I arranged to meet Artem for lunch in Geneva, and he left it up to me to select the restaurant. Using TripAdvisor, I chose a Lebanese eatery near the station. It had excellent reviews, but it turned out to be a takeaway kebab place. We found a table at the back, next to the toilets. Artem looked out of place in his business attire, but he bravely stuck with it.
Artem began his career at Glencore as a junior operator, then became an analyst, followed by a risk manager, and ultimately a trader. In an environment where IT and systems were still relatively basic, he learned to do everything manually: drafting contracts from templates, managing positions in spreadsheets, and building S&Ds from scratch.
He told me that it was this extensive grounding that gave him the confidence to establish his own platform: he understood every part of the chain because he had experienced it himself. Coming from energy trading, he also had exposure to one of the most structurally complex markets, which made subsequent transitions into metals and agriculture easier.
We discussed how working for a well-known company at the beginning of your career gives you a head start for the rest of your career, and how I always advise young people to try to overcome the obstacles to join one.
Artem wasn’t sure he agreed with me. “A major house gives you exposure to multiple geographies, flows, and risk frameworks,” he told me, “But the path can be longer and more complex. A smaller shop has lower barriers to entry and can shorten the path to a trading seat.
“You are in a hurry when you are in your twenties,” Artem told me. “You want to become a trader straight away. It’s only later that you realise that the “slow” years in operations, risk, or analytics are exactly what allow you to manage risk properly when it really matters.”
After Glencore, Artem briefly transitioned to a copper producer to help establish its trading operations, before reconnecting in 2023 with two former Glencore colleagues, Andreas Laskaratos and Sebastian Willems, who had founded AB Commodities as an energy trader in Monaco.
Artem told me that he didn’t want to go straight back into energy trading; instead, he aimed to focus on trade finance. Earlier in his career, he had developed flows where 80–90% of the business economics depended on offering deferred payment terms; without embedded financing, those trades could not exist.
That experience prompted a straightforward question when he founded TradeOn: “Can you separate trade finance from trading and manage it with a trader’s mindset rather than a banker’s?”
Artem admitted that the answer proved to be “only up to a point”.
“To manage risk effectively,” he told me, “You need to be engaged in the trade, in the market, and stay close to the flows. We are a hybrid model: we participate in the physical supply chain as a repo provider or principal, provide structured trade finance, and advise on risk management.
“We focus on owning and controlling the underlying goods, rather than lending against a balance sheet. We can do this through traditional repos, where we hold title to the commodity. We can also act as a principal between two trading firms.”
Artem added that he wants to position TradeOn more as a trading house than a bank, with operators who understand commodity specs and market liquidity, and who actively mark commodities to market.
I asked him if fraud was a concern, but he replied that it is often more evident in large, complex organisations than in smaller family-owned ones that rely on their reputation. “No one is immune to fraud,” he told me. “But layering multiple controls instead of chasing a single ‘silver bullet’ is the only realistic defence.”
The big banks have largely withdrawn from funding smaller to medium-sized commodity traders, citing that compliance and onboarding costs are not justifiable. I asked Artem how he navigates that challenge.
“We are not doing anything magical,” he replied. “Due diligence is due diligence, right? However, we aim to take the best from the banking and trading worlds. We combine the expertise from both sides internally. The banks have extensive infrastructure, and when they onboard a counterparty, they must achieve a minimum ROI to justify the compliance work. However, I can’t say there is anything we do that they don’t, or vice versa.
“Our relationship with AB Commodities is beneficial here,” he continued. “Being a wholly owned subsidiary boosts our credibility with banks, as well as providing access to existing relationships that can be utilised to enhance our own financing capacity.
“We are also looking at the broader spectra. I have always felt that trade finance is a valuable asset for investors. It’s short-term, it’s super liquid.”
“How would that work?” I asked.
“The structure could be as straightforward as a risk participation framework agreement where investors partake in selected transactions,” he replied. “An investor can choose, based on their risk appetite, the commodities and markets they are comfortable with. Their risk is confined to these specific transactions, and liquidity is tested at the end of each cycle, which is, you know, 30 to 90 days. The idea is that you have a revolving pipeline.”
We had both finished our kebabs and ordered coffee. I wanted to proceed to the core of our conversation: stablecoins and tokens. As I mentioned earlier, I see stablecoins as a simpler payment method than the traditional banking system, and tokens as a route for new investors in the sector. However, my son had warned me that Artem was not a fan.
“I never said I’m not a fan of them,” he corrected me. “I just think digitalisation isn’t a solution to everything. If it were, the flows would have been digitalised long ago. There have been so many attempts to do this, but none have succeeded.
“Stablecoins can be a great platform rail for payments,” he continued, “especially in countries where liquidity issues arise, and you sometimes must wait 3-4 days for payments to hit your account. Stablecoins can make the payment process smoother, quicker, and more efficient. They offer a structural upgrade. It’s the direction in which everyone is heading.
“In terms of tokenisation, the commodities industry relies on expertise and trust. Moving into the digital space does not replace either. Having a digital warehouse receipt doesn’t mean the goods it represents match in quantity or quality. Commodities are all about specifications. When you do risk management, you must use all the tools available to you. Is there one tool that replaces all the others? No.
“Imagine you have two warehouses,” he continued. “One is a reputable facility owned by a large multinational, and the other is a small, locally owned warehouse. Both issue a holding certificate for the same goods. Would you consider those certificates equal from a financing or risk perspective? Probably not, since the issuer’s credibility matters.
“The same logic applies to tokenisation. If a trusted institution, such as a large, well-established infrastructure provider, supports the system, then whether the claim is represented by a digital token or a traditional warehouse receipt becomes less significant. What ultimately matters is who is responsible for the underlying asset. In the end, it’s really a question of trust in the institution behind it.”
“In his interview,” I asked, “Rémi told me that finance is the most valuable commodity, but what you’re saying is that trust is even more valuable; is that correct?”
“You must have trust before you have finance,” Artem replied. “But I cannot disagree with him. As a trader, you have to offer a deferred payment term to make a sale. You must make prepayments to secure supply. But it all comes down to trust. Commodities are a small market; everyone knows each other. You have one chance, and the moment you cross that line, you lose the trust of the market, and no structure, no token, and no algorithm will bring it back. You will not be able to transact again.”
Artem established TradeOn in May 2025. I inquired how it was progressing.
“It has been a steep learning curve,” he admitted. “But we’re moving in the right direction. In agricommodities, we have done inventory finance in Eastern Europe and are financing export flows from Latin America to Europe. In metals, we have financed some ores from South Africa. There are plenty of opportunities out there.
“Obviously, like any founder, I suppose I want things to move much quicker, but I recognise that rushing without establishing proper processes can lead to problems. We need to ensure we have the right infrastructure and systems in place and manage them well. However, we’ve been expanding the team, which I am very pleased about. We’ve successfully attracted the talent we desired.
“We have a trader joining us from ADM to develop the agri book further,” he added. “It is important to have expertise in all the commodities that we’re involved in.”
I had reached my final question. “What’s the dream?” I asked.
“My dream is to continue and operate in the physical commodity space,” he replied. “Physical goods impress me. I love it when you can feel, touch, and see your commodity.
“We aim to expand our structured finance offering and collaborate closely with a select few companies, helping them develop their businesses. I also see us forming supply chain partnerships on the trading side. The biggest dream is, of course, to secure enough finance to realise our ambitions.”
As Artem kindly paid the bill, I asked him if he had any questions for me.
“Yes, I do,” he replied. “As I mentioned earlier, I’m aiming to position the company at the intersection between trading and trade finance. What should I call myself?”
His question didn’t catch me off guard; I had already spent most of our lunch trying to assign a name to the hybrid entity he was creating.
“You’re not a trader,” I told him. “You’re a merchandiser – a merchant. There’s a big difference.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A trader is a guy sitting in front of a screen, speculating on time spreads, basis, premiums, and flat price,” I replied. “A merchant is someone who sails to the Spice Islands, buys the spices, brings them back, and sells them.”
“We would also like to be a supply chain partner to the merchants buying the spices,” Artem told me as we left the restaurant.
“Sounds good to me!” I replied.
The next day, I received an email asking for my feedback on the restaurant. I couldn’t respond because I hadn’t paid attention to the food. I had no idea what I had eaten. But isn’t that a sign of a good business lunch? The conversation is always more important than the food or the surroundings.
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