Glossary

The RWA & tokenization glossary

37 plain-language definitions — from what an RWA is, to the exact regulations and standards a compliant raise runs on. Written by an operator that has tokenized $300M+ in assets since 2018.

Prefer a side-by-side? Comparesecurity vs utility tokens,tokenization vs traditional fundraising, and theReg D / S / CF / A+ exemptions. New to the space? Start with thecomplete guide to asset tokenization.

Core concepts

Real-world asset (RWA): A tangible or traditional financial asset — real estate, a fund, private equity, commodities, royalties — that exists off-chain and can be represented on a blockchain.
Asset tokenization: Issuing a blockchain token that represents legal ownership of, or a claim on, a real asset. The token becomes the official, transferable record of ownership.
Tokenized security: A security (equity, debt, fund interest) issued and recorded as a compliant on-chain token, with transfer rules enforced by the token itself.
Security token: A token that is a regulated security — it confers ownership, profit, or repayment rights and is subject to securities law. Distinct from a utility token.
Utility token: A token used to access a product or service, conferring no equity, profit-share, or voting rights. A consumer good, not a security.
Asset Passport: Stobox's on-chain identity for a tokenized asset — a verifiable record of its legal, compliance, and ownership data that follows the token.
On-chain registry: The blockchain-based cap table that records who owns a tokenized security in real time, replacing spreadsheets and manual transfer agents.
Non-custodial: A model where the user holds their own keys and assets. Stobox is non-custodial — it never takes custody of investor funds or tokens.
Self-custody wallet: A wallet the owner controls directly. On Stobox it signs you in, anchors one-time verification, and holds the securities you buy.
Security Token Offering (STO): A regulated sale of tokenized securities to investors under a securities exemption (e.g. Reg D, Reg S, Reg CF, Reg A+). Unlike a 2017-era ICO, an STO sells real, compliance-gated securities — not a utility coupon.
Digital Security Offering (DSO): Another name for an STO — an offering of digitally native, tokenized securities. The terms are used interchangeably; DSO emphasizes that the security's official record lives on-chain.
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV): A company created to hold one asset (or one deal) and nothing else. In tokenization it is the standard wrapper: the SPV holds the asset's title, the tokens represent interests in the SPV — ring-fenced from the sponsor's creditors.
Master-feeder structure: A fund pattern for mixed investor bases: a US feeder for US taxable investors and an offshore feeder for everyone else, both investing into one master vehicle. Tokenization digitizes the feeders' registers without changing the tax logic.
Primary issuance: The first sale of a tokenized security by its issuer to investors — the capital-raising event, as opposed to later secondary trading.
Secondary trading: Buying and selling a security after issuance. For tokenized securities it is enabled by the issuer where and when regulation permits, with transfer rules built into the token.

Regulatory frameworks

Reg D (Rule 506(c)): A U.S. exemption for private placements to accredited investors, allowing general solicitation when all investors are verified as accredited.
Reg S: A U.S. exemption for securities offered to investors outside the United States, commonly paired with Reg D for global raises.
Reg CF: U.S. Regulation Crowdfunding — lets companies raise from the general public (accredited and non-accredited) up to an annual cap, via a registered portal.
Reg A+: A U.S. exemption (a 'mini-IPO') allowing public raises up to a set ceiling from all investors, with SEC qualification and ongoing reporting.
EU Prospectus Regulation: The EU framework governing when a published prospectus is required to offer securities to the public across member states.
Accredited investor: An investor meeting income or net-worth thresholds who is permitted to participate in certain private (e.g. Reg D) offerings.
KYC / KYB: Know Your Customer / Know Your Business — the identity verification of investors and entities required before participating in a regulated offering.
Broker-dealer: A licensed firm that transacts securities. Public raises are run through broker-dealers; Stobox is a technology provider, not a broker-dealer.
Transfer agent: The party that maintains a security's ownership records. For tokenized securities, an on-chain registry performs this function automatically.

Standards, chains & rails

ERC-20: The baseline Ethereum standard for fungible tokens. Compliant securities extend it with permissioning and transfer restrictions.
Permissioned token standards: Standards such as ERC-3643 and emerging ERC-7943 that add identity and compliance rules to tokens so only eligible holders can transfer them.
Base: The USDC-native Ethereum Layer-2 in the Coinbase stack. Stobox Compass issues on Base for compliant, low-cost, scalable settlement.
Arbitrum: An Ethereum Layer-2 network. The STBX security token is issued on Arbitrum.
USDC: A fully-reserved, dollar-backed stablecoin used to settle investments in tokenized assets on Stobox.
Smart wallet: A self-custody wallet (e.g. Coinbase Smart Wallet) with no seed phrase to record, used to sign in and hold assets on Stobox.

The Stobox stack

Stobox Intelligence: The 'Organize' layer — turns a company into one canonical, verifiable record scored across the 7 AXIS readiness pillars.
Stobox Raisable: The 'Raise' layer — turns that record into a broker-acceptance-grade regulated offering, for a flat fee, never a percentage of the raise.
Stobox Compass: The 'Tokenize' layer — issues a live, compliant tokenized security with an on-chain registry and Asset Passport, non-custodial, on Base.
AXIS readiness pillars: The seven dimensions (asset, legal, market, operations and related) Stobox uses to score how prepared a company is to raise or tokenize.
Readiness Score: A free 25-question assessment scoring an asset across legal, market, asset, and operations — the same methodology used inside Stobox Compass.
STBU: The Stobox ecosystem's utility token — access, payments, and staking across Compass, consolidated 1:1 onto Base.
STBX: Stobox's regulated security token representing equity in Stobox, on Arbitrum, offered to eligible investors under Reg D 506(c) / Reg S / EU Prospectus.

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