The movement to tokenization presents a way to bring traditional and non-digital assets online. It also makes assets more globally accessible, secure, and liquid through the use of blockchain technology.
That’s exactly where finance is heading with the advent of Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization.
Even institutional financial leaders like Larry Fink, CEO of Black Rock, are adopting this inevitability. He remarked earlier this year “We believe the next step going forward will be the tokenization of financial assets.”
It’s a movement deeply aligned with Republic’s mission of unlocking access to private markets, for everyone, everywhere, and opening financial offerings normally reserved for institutions and high-net-worth individuals to all investors.
It’s also an area where Republic is leading the way…
A closer look at the types of RWAs
Simply put, Tokenization is the process of creating digital assets or tokens that reside on a blockchain. Furthermore, the blockchain connects each user or investor directly to that token, whether it be a share of a company, access to an exclusive application, rights in an agreement, or even a fraction of one single asset.
RWA (Real World Asset) tokenization typically falls further into several sub-categories, each representing different types of assets that can be tokenized. Here are some of those common sub-categories:
Real Estate: Think of tokenizing a series of rental properties in an exciting market, allowing for fractional ownership, efficient distribution of income, and easier transfer of property rights.
Commodities: Physical commodities like gold, silver, or oil are some of the most valuable and widely traded assets in the world. Tokenizing opens access to a much wider group of investors and allows for more transparent trading.
Financial Instruments: Many assets including selected bond classes, private credit, and debt financing are out of reach for all but wealthiest investors. Imagine tokenizing a senior debt offering that holds the potential for double-digit yield and making it accessible to everyone.
Cultural Assets: Here tokenization is enabling access to assets such as sports teams in our Watford Football Club deal and film finance with deals like Pressman Film. Both will tie to secondary markets and offer exclusive privileges for token holders.
Art and Collectibles: Think of a rare piece of art that’s on tour around the world. Tokenization would allow for ownership of fractional shares as well as open trading of those shares in an art marketplace.
Supply Chain Assets: Billions of dollars in goods move around the global supply chain everyday. Using the blockchain can enhance transparency and traceability, proving ownership and provenance from production to sale.
Luxury Goods: High-end watches, jewelry, and cars have jumped significantly in price over the last 20 years. Tokenization can provide proof of authenticity and ownership as well as open fractional ownership to a far larger group of investors.
Intangible Assets: Agreements and Contracts: Intellectual property assets like patents, trademarks, or copyrights can be hard to protect and to monetize. Imagine tokenized music where artists can share licensing rights with fans, opening the asset with established provenance ensuring protection from IP thieves.
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Our tokenized equity offering for Watford FC, an English football club just one step from the Premier League, closes on Sunday November 3 at Midnight EST. Learn more before time runs out.
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Benefits of RWA Tokenization
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about tokenization is that each individual user or investor can directly own and hold their blockchain-based assets. This is why blockchain technology is also referred to as digital ledger technology, in that it keeps a permanent and tamperproof record of who owns what assets (tokens) and at what moments in time.
When you turn a simple paper investor agreement into a blockchain token, you immediately open opportunities to increase the security and functionality of that investment, going way beyond traditional shares. Let’s take a look at some other improved benefits when tokenizing assets;
Fractional Ownership and Accessibility: Permits investors to buy fractions of expensive assets such as art, real estate, or even expensive venture investments, democratizing access to investment opportunities and allowing anyone around the world to participate
Efficient Payments and Distributions: Smart contracts can automate processes, such as rental income distribution or asset management, removing delays and cutting out expensive middle men along the way.
Increased Liquidity: A larger number of investors involved with a greater number of assets allows for the creation of more liquid markets including ones where tokenized assets can be traded around the clock.
Security Enhanced: Blockchain's immutable ledger provides a transparent, tamper-proof and auditable record of transactions.
Compatibility/Composability: With the growing amount of stablecoins (dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies) being minted onto blockchains, there’s now the flexibility to create a more diverse array of tokenized assets to trade.
Regulatory Compliance: Blockchains can facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements through programmable rules and restrictions that ensure adherence to laws and regulations, in most cases better than legacy protocols ever could.
Perks and Experiences: The digital nature of token also enables the creation of additional features tied to ownership. Imagine using proof of your token ownership to gain backstage access for your favorite band, to skip lines in an amusement park, or gain eligibility for a special dividend.
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Pressman Film, the legendary studio behind classics like Wall Street and American Psycho, is calling investors to back a new development slate of films. Find out how you can secure your tokenized stake.
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Republic’s role in the development of Tokenized RWAs
Republic plays a significant role in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) by providing a platform that facilitates investment in various categories including real estate, private/non-public equity, and other alternative assets like sports franchises and media/IP rights.
Here are some key aspects that enable Republic to be a leader in the RWA space:
Registered Crowdfunding Portal: Republic provides a way for non-accredited individuals to invest in tokenized offerings, opportunities previously reserved only to accredited or institutional investors
Self-Custody Token Wallet: Users of the Republic platform can create their first blockchain wallet, invest in tokenized offerings, and receive tokens all by using the Republic Wallet.
Compliance and Regulation: The Republic platform helps issuers navigate the regulatory landscape, ensuring that tokenized offerings comply with relevant laws, crucial for maintaining investor trust and safety.
Tokenization Services: Republic offers advisory services to help issuers and founders develop RWA tokenization strategies. The focus is utilizing existing regulatory frameworks while simplifying the creation and management of digital tokens that represent ownership of real-world assets. Our team’s unique set of capabilities allows us to navigate the complexities of this new terrain unlike any other company.
How to get involved
Issuers
Tokenization represents a transformative approach to asset ownership and investment. By leveraging blockchain technology, tokenization can increase liquidity, reduce costs, and provide greater transparency and access to a wider range of investors. Apply to launch a tokenized offering on Republic.com
Investors
If you don’t have a Republic account already, create one on Republic.com
Create a Republic Wallet
Search for investment opportunities