Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets

Tokenised assets are expected to transform finance, yet their legal treatment remains a source of uncertainty. This article presents an analytical framework for categorising legal structures of tokenised assets, addressing a gap in academic literature and regulatory approaches. We introduce a taxono...

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Main Author: Xavier Lavayssière
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press
Series:European Journal of Risk Regulation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X24000886/type/journal_article
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author Xavier Lavayssière
author_facet Xavier Lavayssière
author_sort Xavier Lavayssière
collection DOAJ
description Tokenised assets are expected to transform finance, yet their legal treatment remains a source of uncertainty. This article presents an analytical framework for categorising legal structures of tokenised assets, addressing a gap in academic literature and regulatory approaches. We introduce a taxonomy based on the legal relationship between tokens and their underlying assets. In complete tokenisation tokens embody legally enforceable rights. It comprises direct tokenisation, where tokens are the primary form of the asset, and indirect tokenisation, where asset-backed tokens are created through intermediary structures. In contrast, incomplete tokenisation results in tokens that function as “digital twins” with limited or no legal value.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publisher Cambridge University Press
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series European Journal of Risk Regulation
spelling doaj-art-3f59e63c4729407eb9bfe9e4c93c664c2025-08-20T13:13:26ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Journal of Risk Regulation1867-299X2190-824911310.1017/err.2024.88Legal Structures of Tokenised AssetsXavier Lavayssière0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6842-9303Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, FranceTokenised assets are expected to transform finance, yet their legal treatment remains a source of uncertainty. This article presents an analytical framework for categorising legal structures of tokenised assets, addressing a gap in academic literature and regulatory approaches. We introduce a taxonomy based on the legal relationship between tokens and their underlying assets. In complete tokenisation tokens embody legally enforceable rights. It comprises direct tokenisation, where tokens are the primary form of the asset, and indirect tokenisation, where asset-backed tokens are created through intermediary structures. In contrast, incomplete tokenisation results in tokens that function as “digital twins” with limited or no legal value.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X24000886/type/journal_articledigital assetsregulatory innovationsecuritisationtokenisationtrust-minimisationK23G15G18
spellingShingle Xavier Lavayssière
Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
European Journal of Risk Regulation
digital assets
regulatory innovation
securitisation
tokenisation
trust-minimisation
K23
G15
G18
title Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
title_full Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
title_fullStr Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
title_full_unstemmed Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
title_short Legal Structures of Tokenised Assets
title_sort legal structures of tokenised assets
topic digital assets
regulatory innovation
securitisation
tokenisation
trust-minimisation
K23
G15
G18
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X24000886/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT xavierlavayssiere legalstructuresoftokenisedassets