> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.lumia.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.lumia.org/tokenize/what-is-rwa-tokenization-on-lumia.md).

# What is RWA tokenization on Lumia

**Who this is for:** issuers, institutions, and technical teams evaluating Lumia to bring a real-world asset (RWA) on-chain: private credit, real estate, commodities, funds, or similar. This page is conceptual and gives the whole-section view. Each stage below links to the page that owns the detail.

Lumia's architecture separates two concerns that most RWA platforms bundle together:

* **A permissionless base layer.** The chain itself (block production, the zkEVM, the RPC, the DA layer) imposes no identity or permission gate. Anyone can read chain state, run a node, or deploy a contract, the same as any public EVM chain.
* **A permissioned application layer, selected per asset.** Compliance (KYC/KYB/KYT/KYV, see [Compliance model overview](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/ecosystem/lumia/compliance/compliance-model-overview)) is enforced at the contract/app level, not the protocol level. An issuer chooses what gate applies to their asset's transfer, redemption, and distribution logic; the chain does not impose one global compliance regime on every contract.

{% hint style="warning" %}
This is the differentiator worth understanding before you design a token contract: **you are responsible for building or integrating the permission gate your asset needs.** Lumia provides on-chain KYC verification as a building block (see [Integrate on-chain KYC (dev guide)](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/build-on-lumia/identity/integrate-on-chain-kyc-dev-guide)).
{% endhint %}

### The five stages

The table below summarizes the split at each stage: what Lumia provides today, and what the issuer supplies. The table does not show sequencing or timing; for that, see [The asset lifecycle](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle).

| Stage         | What Lumia provides today                                                      | What the issuer brings                                         |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1. Issue      | zkEVM execution, standard deployment tooling, an on-chain KYC verifier pattern | Legal structure, the token contract, the compliance ruleset    |
| 2. Attest     | Market-data oracle integrations                                                | The attestation source (auditor, custodian, or oracle network) |
| 3. Distribute | Base transfer and mint mechanics, a transfer-time place to enforce eligibility | The distribution mechanism and the investor checks             |
| 4. Service    | Execution environment, indexer integrations                                    | Servicing contract logic and the off-chain process feeding it  |
| 5. Redeem     | Settlement finality and bridging                                               | The redemption mechanism and the legal wind-down               |

#### 1. Issue

The issuer defines the asset and mints an on-chain representation of it, typically an ERC-20 token for a fungible asset or an ERC-721 or ERC-1155 token for a non-fungible one, carrying transfer hooks that call a compliance check. Full stage detail: [Stage 1: Issue](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle/stage-1-issue).

#### 2. Attest

Off-chain facts about the asset (valuation, legal title, custody, audit) get an on-chain anchor, so downstream contracts and investors can rely on the token's backing without re-reading the paperwork. Full stage detail: [Stage 2: Attest](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle/stage-2-attest).

#### 3. Distribute

Distribution gets the token in front of eligible investors and executes the primary sale or allocation, with the eligibility check enforced at transfer time. Full stage detail: [Stage 3: Distribute](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle/stage-3-distribute).

#### 4. Service

Servicing covers the ongoing lifecycle events: interest and dividend distribution, NAV updates, corporate actions, and periodic re-attestation. Full stage detail: [Stage 4: Service](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle/stage-4-service).

#### 5. Redeem

Redemption is the final settlement. Token holders exit into cash, another asset, or the underlying real-world claim itself, a process that is almost entirely off-chain. Full stage detail: [Stage 5: Redeem](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/tokenize/the-asset-lifecycle/stage-5-redeem).

### Compliance taxonomy (KYC / KYB / KYT / KYV)

Lumia's compliance model is discussed in depth at [Compliance model overview](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/ecosystem/lumia/compliance/compliance-model-overview). In short, for RWA specifically:

| Check                            | What it verifies                                                                | Typically applies to                              |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| KYC (Know Your Customer)         | Identity of an individual investor                                              | Retail/individual token holders                   |
| KYB (Know Your Business)         | Identity and standing of a corporate entity                                     | Institutional investors, the issuer entity itself |
| KYT (Know Your Transaction)      | Transaction-level risk (sanctions, AML pattern screening)                       | Every transfer, at the app layer                  |
| KYV (Know Your Vendor/Validator) | Standing of infrastructure counterparties (custodians, oracles, node operators) | Ecosystem partners, not end users                 |

This is a general RWA-industry taxonomy applied here to Lumia's model. It is not a Lumia-specific trademarked framework; treat it as a design vocabulary, not a claim that Lumia ships all four as products.

For how the permission gate actually gets enforced on-chain, read [Compliance model overview](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/ecosystem/lumia/compliance/compliance-model-overview), then [Integrate on-chain KYC (dev guide)](https://app.gitbook.com/s/chmhPiVNAafGw48c4oU2/build-on-lumia/identity/integrate-on-chain-kyc-dev-guide) for the concrete integration.