The Asset Issuer's Roadmap
"Let's tokenize everything!" - sounds simple enough, right?
The reality is that bringing real-world assets on-chain is not as easy as waving a magic wand and launching a coin on pump.fun. Converting physical value into digital tokens involves a sophisticated, multi-stage process that many underestimate.
Tokenization is not just about creating a digital representation of an asset. It is the process of linking real-world legal rights and obligations to those digital representations on the blockchain. Without that legal foundation, tokenized assets cannot function in regulated financial systems.
Redbelly Network was built from the ground up for this exact journey, providing infrastructure that makes each stage possible without compromising on the compliance requirements that regulated assets demand. Unlike general-purpose blockchains that aren't designed for onboarding RWA issuers, Redbelly's architecture specifically addresses the challenges of bridging traditional and digital finance.
This roadmap unpacks the process of moving assets move on-chain with Redbelly.
Stage 1: Registry Deployment & Asset Validation
The first stage of bringing RWAs on-chain is the establishment of an authoritative registry of ownership on the blockchain rather than just creating digital copies of existing records.
Asset issuers are responsible for deploying an asset registry on-chain by creating smart contracts that represent ownership rights. Unlike traditional approaches that simply create "digital twins" of existing databases, Redbelly enables these smart contracts to become the single source of truth for asset ownership. This eliminates the need for ongoing reconciliation between multiple systems and reduces the administrative burden of maintaining parallel records.
Independent validation becomes crucial for establishing trust in this new registry. Third-party services like Defillama, RWA.XYZ, and RWA.IO provide verification of on-chain assets, confirming their existence and ownership without relying solely on the issuer's claims.
Redbelly provides the infrastructure specifically designed for authoritative registries rather than supplementary copies. The network's instant finality prevents ownership disputes that could arise from chain reorganizations, while its identity layer creates the foundation for regulatory compliance. This enables issuers to confidently transition from legacy systems to the Redbelly Network as their primary record-keeping system.
This stage represents the first concrete value unlock: reducing information asymmetry and operational friction by establishing a single, transparent source of truth for asset ownership. By eliminating the need for constant reconciliation between systems, this approach dramatically improves operational efficiency while reducing the risk of discrepancies.
Stage 2: Custody Infrastructure
Once assets are represented on-chain, issuers must determine who controls the cryptographic keys that grant access to tokenized assets. This decision has a significant impact on user experience and compliance.
There are three primary custody models available to issuers:
- Issuer custody keeps control with the organization that issued the assets, similar to traditional database access. This provides a familiar user experience but makes the issuer solely responsible for security. with the issuer. End users interact with familiar interfaces while all blockchain complexity remains hidden behind the scenes.
- Third-party custody leverages specialized providers who secure digital assets as their core business. These services offer institutional-grade security with features like cold storage and insurance coverage. This approach distributes security responsibility while still providing a streamlined user experience.
- Multi-signature approaches can combine the above two approaches, distributing control across multiple parties. For example, a 2-of-3 multisig might require signatures from any two of the issuers, a custody provider, and another neutral, trusted party. Platforms like Fireblocks enable these flexible security models that balance control with enhanced security.
Each approach involves tradeoffs between user experience, security, and control. Redbelly Network supports this range of options by working with specialized providers like Fireblocks and Guardian that support the compliance needs for regulated assets.
Critically, any custody implementation must maintain backward compatibility with existing KYC/AML processes. Redbelly's identity layer facilitates this by linking on-chain addresses to verified identities, ensuring the regulatory compliance chain remains unbroken.
In summary, issuers must choose and implement their preferred custody model, while Redbelly's flexible infrastructure supports any approach through its identity system and partnerships.
Stage 3: Market Creation & Price Discovery
With assets deployed on-chain and custody infrastructure established, the next phase involves creating markets where these tokenized assets can be traded.
Creating compliant trading environments requires careful consideration of securities laws and financial regulations. Most jurisdictions have specific rules governing who can operate markets, what disclosures are required, and which investor protections must be implemented. Asset issuers cannot simply launch open marketplaces without addressing these requirements.
The process typically involves securing appropriate licenses or working with already-licensed entities depending on the asset class and jurisdiction.
Redbelly Network offers significant advantages over other general-purpose chains, with high throughput capacity that handles transaction spikes, instant finality that eliminates settlement uncertainty, and fixed gas costs regardless of network activity ensure predictable transaction fees.
This stage marks where tokenization benefits become tangible through 24/7 markets, fractional ownership, reduced trading costs, and more efficient markets. While many RWA projects might stop here in a roadmap of bringing assets on-chain, Redbelly enables further stages that unlock even greater benefits of tokenization.
Stage 4: Combining Assets to Create Structured Products
As markets for individual tokenized assets mature, issuers can unlock additional value by combining them into structured products where multiple tokenized assets can be programmatically combined while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Structured products on Redbelly combine diverse assets and income streams into unified investment vehicles. For example, a single token might represent a portfolio containing real estate, bonds, and commodities, all wrapped in a compliance-aware smart contract. This enables precise risk-return profiles without requiring separate purchases of each component.
The technical framework requires a system that can:
- Track ownership of multiple underlying assets
- Apply appropriate compliance rules across all contained assets
- Distribute income from various sources to token holders
Maintaining compliance while combining assets is challenging since each underlying asset may have different regulatory requirements and investor eligibility criteria. Redbelly's verifiable credentials system allows programmatic verification of investor eligibility across all component assets without repeatedly collecting documentation.
Additionally, Redbelly's performance capabilities make complex operations feasible at scale. The network's high throughput ensures rebalancing operations execute without congestion, while fixed gas costs provide certainty that complex operations remain economically viable regardless of market conditions.
Stage 5: Cross-Protocol Integration
With tokenized assets issued on Redbelly, the next stage involves extending their use into other protocols while preserving compliance. This enables these assets to participate in broader financial applications like lending or derivatives, powered by Redbelly’s identity and credential systems.
Assets issued on Redbelly can be used in lending protocols, liquidity pools, or other DeFi applications while retaining their core properties and compliance status.
Using tokenized assets as collateral represents one of the most powerful applications. Real estate tokens, tokenized securities, or structured products can serve as collateral for loans or derivatives. This unlocks liquidity from previously illiquid assets without requiring their sale.
Maintaining compliance across protocol boundaries is technically challenging. Different protocols may have varying compliance requirements, and assets must maintain their regulatory status regardless of where they are utilized. Redbelly addresses this through its network-level verified credentials system, which travels with the assets as they move across protocols.
Redbelly's identity layer provides the infrastructure for permissioning across ecosystem boundaries, allowing assets to participate in broader markets while ensuring only appropriate participants can interact with regulated instruments. Unlike typical permissioned systems that create closed gardens, Redbelly's approach enables permissioned assets to interact with permissionless protocols when compliance requirements are satisfied.
By solving compliance challenges that have kept RWAs from coming on-chain, Redbelly enables institutional-grade assets to benefit from the efficiency and programmability of DeFi while maintaining regulatory frameworks.
Stage 6: Portfolio Automation
With assets, markets, and real-time data oracles available on-chain, issuers can use smart contracts to automate predefined trading strategies. By integrating oracles and price feeds, smart contracts can be used rebalance portfolios, manage risk, or execute trades based on predefined conditions.
For example, a smart contract could adjust exposure to tokenized real estate based on rental yields or interest rates. These strategies can run without manual input, reducing reliance on intermediaries and improving efficiency.
Redbelly Network’s fixed transaction fees support frequent, cost-effective adjustments that may have otherwise been impractical on general purpose blockchains.
Looking ahead, AI agents introduce a more adaptive layer. Unlike smart contracts, which follow fixed logic, AI agents can process broader datasets, identify trends, and trigger actions via smart contracts. This expands the scope of on-chain portfolio automation while maintaining trust and transparency through verifiable execution.
The Future of RWAs is On-Chain
The journey of bringing RWAs on-chain progresses through distinct stages, each unlocking new capabilities and value. Understanding this process is valuable whether you're an asset issuer, investor, or simply interested in the next evolution of traditional finance.
For those participating in this evolution, the benefits become increasingly powerful at each stage, from initial transparency to programmable automation. While the later stages might seem complex, even the early stages of tokenization bring immense value to both asset issuers and investors.
Redbelly Network provides purpose-built infrastructure for this journey, with accountability, performance, and compliance integrated at every level. The architecture addresses the specific challenges faced at each stage of bringing RWAs on-chain, enabling issuers to take the leap and launch compliant, scalable tokenized assets.
Ready to be part of the next evolution of traditional finance? Join the Redbelly Network today at: https://access.redbelly.network/
