By Zeus
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Core idea: Tokenization does not create new value. It changes how ownership and value are recorded and transferred.
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When people talk about “bringing assets onchain,” they aren’t inventing new money, new buildings, or new loans. They’re taking things that already exist in the real world and changing how ownership and value is tracked.
Imagine a company owns a building, a pool of loans, or a pot of government bonds. Those assets already produce money. Rent comes in. Interest gets paid. Cash flows exist.
Today, ownership is recorded in databases, legal documents, bank systems, and spreadsheets. It works, but it’s slow, fragmented, and hard to access unless you’re a large institution. Tokenization is about upgrading that record keeping.
A token is basically a digital proof of ownership. It says:
“This wallet owns this share of this asset, under these rules.”
The asset doesn’t move. The building stays where it is. The loan still exists. The bond still pays interest.
What changes is how ownership is represented and transferred. Instead of waiting days for paperwork and settlement, ownership can update instantly on a blockchain.
Think of it like moving from paper share certificates to online banking, but for many different types of assets.
Before any tokens can be issued, there’s a crucial step people often ignore. Real-world assets need a wrapper.
Usually a company, a trust, or a fund.
This wrapper defines who owns what, how money flows, and what happens if something goes wrong. The token doesn’t replace the legal structure. It sits on top of it. If there’s no proper legal structure underneath, the token is just a number on a screen.
Someone has to actually run the asset.
If it’s loans, someone collects repayments. If it’s property, someone manages tenants. If it’s bonds or funds, someone tracks payments and reports performance.
Blockchains don’t chase late payments or fix broken boilers. People do.