Overview
Allium classifies tokenized Real World Assets using a two-level taxonomy:asset_class (top-level category) and asset_type (granular sub-category), built on three principles:
- Risk-factor alignment — classes map to the primary risk factor driving value (interest rates, credit spreads, equity prices, FX rates, commodity prices, property values).
- Institutional desk mapping — class names mirror how trading desks are organized at major banks and asset managers.
- Product structure first — classify by the on-chain instrument’s own structural class, not by looking through to whatever the wrapper holds. See The Product Structure Rule.
What Qualifies as RWA
A product must clear a two-axis test before it’s assigned anasset_class. Most exclusions fail here, not in the asset-class taxonomy.
Axis 1 — Investment exposure vs. payment instrument. If the underlying asset’s value drops 5%, does the token’s price drop too? If yes, it’s investment exposure. If the token instead holds a $1/par peg regardless of underlying performance, it’s a payment instrument (a stablecoin, not an RWA), regardless of what backs it.
Axis 2 — Real-world vs. crypto-native reference. Does the exposure reference an asset or market that exists independently of the blockchain (Treasuries, gold, equities, real estate, corporate debt, FX), or a crypto-native mechanic (BTC/ETH price, funding rates, MEV, DeFi lending yield)?
Only the top-left quadrant qualifies. A few non-obvious consequences:
- Redemption structure decides Axis 1, not marketing. A “yield-bearing stablecoin” that redeems at accrued NAV (not a fixed $1) is investment exposure, so it classifies as RWA despite the name.
- Crypto funds are excluded even with real investment exposure. A fund share investing in BTC basis trades, ETH staking derivatives, or MEV strategies fails Axis 2 and is tracked separately as a crypto-native yield product, not RWA.
- Blended strategies classify by the dominant side (more than 50% of the portfolio). An undisclosed split is excluded rather than assumed to qualify.
- Classification requires verifiable documentation. If the underlying asset or structure can’t be confirmed from issuer disclosures, the product is excluded until it can be.
The Product Structure Rule
Once a product clears the RWA test,asset_class follows the on-chain instrument’s own structural class, not what it holds. A tokenized ETF share is classified as an ETF share regardless of what the ETF invests in.
The narrow exception: structured-note pass-through certificates explicitly designed as a 1:1 tracker of a single named instrument (e.g. some Backed Finance certificates) inherit the referenced instrument’s class instead.
Asset Classes and Asset Types
- Rates
- Equities
- Credit
- FX
- Commodities
- Private Funds
- Real Estate
Interest-rate and sovereign debt exposure — government debt, money market funds, repos, and rate-linked products.
Classification Rules
Fund structure vs. direct exposure
Withinrates and credit, the wrapper’s regulatory and legal structure, not just what it holds, determines asset_type:
2a-7 status is a narrow, formally-defined category. Most tokenized Treasury products are Reg D private funds, offshore vehicles, or UCITS funds rather than registered MMFs, so
government_bond_funds_us is the more common classification.
Dominant risk factor
When a product spans more than one risk factor, Allium classifies by whichever dominates: a EUR-denominated German Bund isrates (rate risk over FX risk); a gold-backed token is commodities (commodity price dominates). This applies within an asset class, after a product has already cleared the RWA test in What Qualifies as RWA.
Product Metadata Fields
In addition toasset_class and asset_type, each product carries four metadata fields: