// GLOSSARY
Asset tokenization & RWA
Representing real-world assets on-chain, with the compliance that goes with it.
AML
AML (anti-money laundering) is the set of laws, controls and monitoring that financial businesses apply to detect and block proceeds of crime from entering the financial system, including screening, transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting.
Asset Tokenization
Asset tokenization is the process of representing ownership or economic rights in an asset — real estate, loans, funds, commodities — as digital tokens on a blockchain, under a legal structure that ties the token to the asset.
Digital Asset Custody
Digital asset custody is the safekeeping of tokens and private keys by a specialized provider, with controls — segregation, insurance, audits — designed so that client assets survive the provider's own failures or attacks.
ERC-20
ERC-20 is the most widely used standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum-compatible blockchains, defining a common interface for balances and transfers so wallets, exchanges and contracts can support any ERC-20 token uniformly.
ERC-3643
ERC-3643 is a permissioned token standard for Ethereum-based chains that allows transfers only between wallets whose owners have passed on-chain identity and compliance checks, making it the leading standard for security and RWA tokens.
Fractional Ownership
Fractional ownership splits ownership of an asset into smaller units that multiple people can hold, so investors can participate with amounts far below the price of the whole asset.
KYC
KYC (know your customer) is the process of verifying a client's identity — who they are, where they live and, in extended forms, the source of their funds — before allowing them to open an account, invest or transact.
Permissioned Token
A permissioned token is a token whose smart contract enforces rules about who may hold or receive it — verified identity, investor category, jurisdiction — rejecting transfers that violate them.
Proof of Reserves
Proof of reserves is an independent verification that an issuer actually holds the assets backing its obligations — for stablecoins, exchange balances or asset-backed tokens — usually through attestations or on-chain evidence.
Real-World Assets (RWA)
Real-world assets (RWA) are physical or traditional financial assets, such as real estate, loans, bonds or commodities, whose ownership or economic rights are represented by tokens on a blockchain.
Security Token
A security token is a digital token that legally qualifies as a security — giving the holder an investment interest such as equity, debt or profit participation — and is therefore issued and traded under securities regulation.
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
A special purpose vehicle is a legal entity created for one narrow purpose — typically to hold a specific asset or originate a specific debt — isolating it from the parent company's other risks and creditors.