Since the genesis of smart-contract blockchains, entrepreneurs have sought to bring real world assets (RWAs) on-chain. As of now, real estate, bonds, equities, and other assets are sequestered away in different jurisdictions, exchanges, and databases. Aggregating information within a single open ledger should reduce informational asymmetry and transaction costs, or so the reasoning goes.
The Primer is one of the first and most rigorous writings on tokenization. It was written by friends and fellow builders Teej Ragsdale, Jack Chong, and Mukund Venkatakrishnan.
Since the genesis of smart-contract blockchains, entrepreneurs have sought to bring real world assets (RWAs) on-chain. As of now, real estate, bonds, equities, and other assets are sequestered away in different jurisdictions, exchanges, and databases. Aggregating information within a single open ledger should reduce informational asymmetry and transaction costs, or so the reasoning goes.
The earliest wave of RWAs started with real estate. Buildings are essential, tend to maintain value over time, and are inherently productive (create value). But while tokenization platforms loved real estate, real estate did not love them back. The problem persists: the owner of “tokenized real estate” is not really entitled to the underlying asset. In most jurisdictions, tokens are not recognised as bearer assets. So when trouble arises and a default occurs, how does the token owner foreclose on the bricks to which he or she should be entitled?
When two different consensus environments, one on a blockchain and the other in the real world, collide, uncertainty arises.In authoring this Primer, we strive to bring honesty and rigor to the emerging space of RWAs. We pull no punches in uncovering the inconsistencies of various DeFi narratives. We propose some radical but humble predictions about our industry. We hope that our readers derive value from our work and that it sparks meaningful discussion.
The rest of the primer is available here: https://docsend.com/view/u53utyp2j4ycg7r6.