What Tokenization Really Is
Grasp the core idea in plain words — a token is a claim on a real asset a custodian holds — plus what backing, a peg, and redeeming actually mean.
A beginner-friendly intro to tokenized real-world assets — no finance or crypto background needed. Maya covers what tokenization is, the three common products (stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, tokenized stocks), what can go wrong (depeg, custody, redemption), and you make a first plain-language call. An educational case study inspired by Ondo Finance — not affiliated with or endorsed by Ondo, BlackRock, Circle, or any regulator. Not investment advice.
Meet your guide Maya and the big idea: you usually can't own a slice of a skyscraper or a government bond — what if you could? Make your first gut-call about what 'tokenizing' an asset means.
Learn the one mental model that unlocks everything — a custodian holds the real asset, you hold a token that proves your claim (the coat-check analogy) — then build a claim yourself in an interactive tokenization simulator.
Compare the three common products — stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, and tokenized stocks — by sorting them across yield, who-can-hold, and how-you-exit, and pull a lever to see where the yield actually flows.
Understand trust: what a peg is, what it means to redeem, and how things fail. Pull a lever to break the dollar yourself by putting reserves in doubt, then match each risk — depeg, custody, redemption — to the safeguard that protects against it.
Make a beginner-correct recommendation: pick the product you'd start with and explain why in plain language, then teach a tokenized RWA back in your own words. Maya reveals how far you've come from your first guess.
Grasp the core idea in plain words — a token is a claim on a real asset a custodian holds — plus what backing, a peg, and redeeming actually mean.
Tell stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, and tokenized stocks apart, and reason about which is the sensible first move and why.
Spot the ways a "one-dollar" token can wobble — depeg, custody, and redemption — and the basic safeguards that keep a tokenized asset trustworthy.