Chung Hei Sing

Chung Hei Sing

I work at the intersection of institutional capital allocation, governance, and financial infrastructure, with a focus on real-world assets and long-term investment decision-making.

The RWA Tokenization Stack

Technology, Governance, and Institutional Constraints

Abstract

Tokenization of real-world assets is frequently presented as a technological problem — where advances in blockchains, smart contracts, and digital infrastructure will eventually resolve. This paper argues that such framing misidentifies the binding constraint. Most tokenization initiatives stall not because technology fails, but because the institutional layers that determine investability — legal enforceability, governance authority, fiduciary accountability, and regulatory compatibility — are left under designed.

The paper reconceptualizes the RWA tokenization stack as a six-layer institutional system in which technology occupies only the lowest levels. Higher-order layers govern whether tokenized claims are enforceable, governable, and compatible with the fiduciary and regulatory frameworks within which institutional capital operates. Weakness at these layers cannot be compensated by sophistication at lower ones.

By mapping these layers and their interactions, the paper provides a framework for diagnosing why tokenization efforts stall and identifying the conditions required for tokenized RWAs can achieve durable institutional adoption. The central implication is direct: tokenization is not constrained by what can be built, but by what can be governed.

Key Implications

  • Tokenization viability is determined by higher-order institutional layers, not by advances in blockchain or smart-contract technology alone.
  • Weakness or ambiguity in governance, legal enforceability, or fiduciary accountability cannot be offset by technical sophistication at lower layers.
  • Institutional adoption proceeds where tokenization preserves authority, responsibility, and regulatory integration rather than attempting to abstract them away.
  • Treating tokenization as an institutional stack reframes failure as a design problem of governance alignment rather than technological readiness.

Keywords

Real-world assets (RWA); asset tokenization; institutional market design; financial infrastructure; governance frameworks; legal enforceability; fiduciary accountability; regulatory compatibility; smart contracts; distributed ledger technology

Recommended citation: Sing, C. H. (2023). The RWA tokenization stack: Technology, governance, and institutional constraints. Working paper.
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