Institutional grade infrastructure for tokenized assets.
If the point of tokenization is to democratize access to opportunities that were previously exclusive, then the on chain version of those opportunities needs to match the structural rigor of the off chain version that institutions already use. Right now, it does not. On chain versions of real world assets use self reported pricing, static risk parameters, and liquidation mechanics designed for liquid tokens applied to collateral that lives off chain in foreign jurisdictions. A traditional NAV lender would never extend 85% against a fund that is internally leveraged 1.5x with no independent valuation. On chain, this exists today.
Billions in institutional capital will not move on chain until the infrastructure meets the diligence standards those institutions already follow off chain: independent pricing with challenge rights, dynamic collateral monitoring, look through leverage analysis, managed enforcement, and settlement that improves upon what exists rather than cutting corners for speed.
Ravariant researches how these structures work in traditional finance, identifies where on chain infrastructure can genuinely improve upon them, and builds the systems that close the gap. Independent valuation. Dynamic risk monitoring. Lending infrastructure with institutional grade underwriting. Settlement mechanics that provide real advantages over the off chain versions. Without that foundation, tokenization is just faster plumbing on a weaker structure.
We study what makes traditional versions of these assets work. BDCs trade millions of shares daily on the NYSE. The same loans wrapped in a tokenized fund sit in a wallet with no bid. The difference is not the asset. It is the structure around it: leverage caps, mandatory distributions, independent valuation, public disclosure, short selling, and a permanent bid from a designated market maker.
The Investment Company Act caps leverage at 2:1. Funds file on EDGAR. NAV is reported on a fixed schedule. Boards are independent. Auditors are external. Distribution policies force 90%+ of income out to shareholders.
On chain infrastructure can replicate these structural features and in some cases improve upon them. Leverage constraints enforced by smart contract rather than board discretion. Collateral ratios monitored every block rather than every quarter. Independent pricing from a network of staked validators rather than a single appointed appraiser. Settlement that is atomic and transparent rather than bilateral and opaque.
But none of this works without the foundational layer: knowing what the asset is worth, independently, continuously, and under stress. Every lending parameter, every margin call, every liquidation threshold depends on a mark. If that mark is self reported by the issuer, the entire system is built on the word of the party with the most incentive to keep the number stable.
What We Build
Independent pricing for assets with no observable market. Proxy baskets from public instruments, calibrated against on chain behavioral signals, updated continuously.
Lending infrastructure with institutional underwriting. Look through leverage, concentration limits, borrower solvency monitoring, and advance rates that adjust to conditions.
First loss capital structures that let institutional lenders participate at the protection level they require. Junior absorbs tail risk. Senior earns stable yield.
Programmable financial agreements. Margin requirements, financing terms, collateral management, callability, and enforcement encoded in smart contracts. The on chain equivalent of an ISDA, self executing and fully transparent to both counterparties.
Compliance and eligibility infrastructure. On chain KYC/KYB verification, transfer restrictions, regulatory reporting hooks, and counterparty whitelisting. Institutional lenders require every participant to be verified. The smart contract enforces it.
Liquidity is not a property of the asset. It is a property of the infrastructure around it. Ravariant builds that infrastructure.