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The architecture

How ONE-CHAIN works.

Four layers sit underneath the institution's existing relationships: tokenize, structure, distribute, service. All of it happens inside one permissioned perimeter.

Startup · Aruba · 2026

The four layers

Each layer does one job and hands its result to the next: an asset becomes an instrument, the instrument is divided into tranches, the tranches reach approved holders, and cashflows return to those holders. For each one, here is what happens, what changes for the institution, and what the investor sees.

Layer 01

Tokenize

Asset → instrument

An asset the institution already holds becomes an instrument that carries its own rules.

The starting point is something the institution has already underwritten: a loan facility, a bond or note, a stake in an operating company, a participation in a single-asset vehicle. ONE-CHAIN does not originate, price or credit-assess it. The institution registers the asset, and the platform issues a digital instrument that represents participation in it.

That instrument is an ERC-3643 token on a permissioned ledger. Unlike a bearer token, it can only be held by a wallet bound to a verified identity, and it carries its transfer rules, its eligibility logic and its disclosure references: term sheet, governing law, jurisdiction. The underlying asset and its servicing agreement stay with the originating institution.

ASSETLoan facilitystays withinstitutionissueTOKENERC-3643LOANrules · identity · docs
The asset does not move. A token representing participation in it is issued inside the perimeter.

What changes for the institution

  • The underlying asset and its servicing agreement stay with you
  • One issuance template per asset class, parameterised per deal
  • Disclosure is attached to the instrument instead of circulated by email

What the investor sees

  • An instrument tied to a named, institution-originated asset
  • The term sheet and governing law, readable before committing
  • A holding recorded against their verified identity, never a bearer position

Layer 02

Structure

Instrument → tranches

Terms that used to sit in separate side agreements become parameters inside the instrument.

One asset rarely suits every investor. Structuring divides the exposure into tranches (senior, mezzanine, junior), each with its own size, currency, maturity, interest rate and redemption schedule. The originator sets these when the issuance is configured. Tranches can also be custom: a version tailored to one institution's mandate, with its own terms and eligibility.

Each tranche also carries its eligibility profile: which jurisdictions may hold it, what accreditation is required, which sector limits apply, and how much any one holder may own. These are not undertakings a participant promises to respect. They are conditions the token checks every time it is asked to move, and they are readable by participants and by the supervising authority.

TOKENTRANCHESSeniorMezzanineJunior
One instrument, several tranches. Each has its own terms and its own eligibility rules.

What changes for the institution

  • A cap table per tranche, maintained by the ledger
  • Interest, redemption and amortisation rules set once, at issuance
  • Holding caps and eligibility limits enforced without manual checks

What the investor sees

  • The tranche's rank, interest rate and maturity stated on the instrument
  • The eligibility rules that apply to them, before they subscribe
  • The same terms every other holder of that tranche sees

Layer 03

Distribute

Tranche → approved holders

An offering reaches the investors it was structured for, and nobody else.

Once an issuance is published, investors who have been onboarded and whose profile matches the tranche's eligibility rules can subscribe to it: qualified individuals, family offices and institutions. There is no retail access. An investor who does not meet an instrument's rules cannot hold it.

After issuance, a holder may transfer to another approved holder. The token runs the same identity and eligibility checks on that secondary transfer as it did on the primary one, so the exposure never leaves the perimeter.

TRANCHESeniorHOLDERSApprovedApprovedNo identity
Approved holders receive the instrument. A wallet without a verified identity cannot.

What changes for the institution

  • You publish to a pre-cleared investor base instead of assembling one per deal
  • Allocation is checked against the cap table as commitments arrive
  • You keep the client relationship; the platform sits underneath it

What the investor sees

  • Offerings they are eligible for, with terms and documents in one place
  • A subscription that is confirmed or declined against stated rules
  • A route to transfer to another approved holder later

Layer 04

Service

Holders ← cashflows

Interest payments, redemptions and records run on the schedule the instrument already carries.

After issuance the work is servicing: paying interest, processing redemptions, recording corporate actions, refreshing identity checks. Because the schedule and the holders of record are both on the ledger, a payment date resolves to a list of who is owed what.

Cash moves through the platform, and settlement takes minutes. Each distribution is recorded against the instrument, reconciled with the originator's books, and visible to the supervising authority as it happens. An audit becomes a matter of reading the record, not rebuilding it.

HOLDERS OF RECORDSCHEDULEInterestvia platform
On each payment date the schedule resolves to the holders of record and what each is owed.

What changes for the institution

  • Cashflow schedules calculated from holders of record
  • Corporate actions signed and recorded on the instrument
  • Continuous reconciliation against your own books

What the investor sees

  • Scheduled interest payments and redemptions against each holding
  • A cashflow history and documents for every position
  • Their eligibility status, and when a check is due for refresh

The perimeter

One observable boundary. Three rules.

The perimeter is what lets a regulated institution use the rail at all. Every participant, every holding and every transfer happens inside of it, and the rules are enforced by the instruments themselves, not by a policy document.

  • Rule 01 · Identity

    Every wallet is identified.

    Before a wallet can hold anything, the person or entity behind it passes identity verification, sanctions screening, accreditation and source-of-funds checks. The wallet is then bound to that verified identity.

    For example

    A transfer to a wallet without a verified identity is rejected by the token itself.

  • Rule 02 · Eligibility

    Every instrument is restricted.

    Each instrument carries its own conditions: permitted jurisdictions, accreditation tier, sector limits, holding caps. The token evaluates them on every subscription and every transfer. A movement that would break a rule is not settled and later unwound. It never settles.

    For example

    A company registered in another jurisdiction tries to subscribe to a bond that is open to Aruban institutions only. The instrument's own eligibility rule refuses the subscription, so the order never reaches settlement.

  • Rule 03 · Visibility

    Every action is observable.

    Issuances, holdings, transfers and redemptions are recorded as they happen, and the supervising authority can read that record directly. Oversight does not depend on a report being compiled and filed after the fact.

    For example

    A supervisor asks who held a given note on a given date. The answer is a lookup on the ledger, not a request to the originator.

  • Plus · Privacy

    Confidential between counterparties.

    Observable does not mean public. A holding is visible to the holder, to the originator of the instrument and to the supervising authority. Other investors and other originators do not see it.

    For example

    Two investors hold the same tranche. Each sees their own position and the instrument's terms. Neither sees the other's name or size.

Flows

From originator to investor in eight controlled steps.

One subscription followed from onboarding to a secondary transfer. Each step names who acts and what the ledger records, which is also what the supervising authority can read.

Step 01 · Onboard

The investor is identified once.

Identity, accreditation and source-of-funds checks are completed and the wallet is bound to the verified identity. That binding is reused for every instrument afterwards, and it can be revoked.

Who acts
Investor
What is recorded
A wallet bound to a verified identity, with its accreditation tier and jurisdiction.
Step 02 · Originate

The institution registers the asset.

A loan, bond, equity stake or SPV participation the institution has already underwritten is registered, with its documents referenced on the instrument.

Who acts
Originator
What is recorded
The asset reference, term sheet, governing law and servicing agreement.
Step 03 · Structure

Terms become parameters.

Tranches, interest rate, redemption and amortisation rules, eligibility constraints and holding caps are set on the instrument. What used to sit in separate side agreements now sits where the supervising authority can read it.

Who acts
Originator
What is recorded
Tranche sizes, the interest and redemption schedule, eligibility rules and holding caps.
Step 04 · Approve

The offering passes the perimeter checks.

Disclosure is complete, the rules validate, and the offering is published to the approved cohort only. It is visible to the supervising authority from the moment it opens.

Who acts
Platform
What is recorded
The published offering and the cohort eligible to subscribe.
Step 05 · Allocate

Investors subscribe; the cap table decides.

Eligible investors commit. Allocation is confirmed against the cap table: no breached holding cap, no ineligible wallet.

Who acts
Investor
What is recorded
Each signed, time-stamped commitment and the resulting cap table.
Step 06 · Settle

Cash first, instrument second.

The cash leg settles through the platform. Only on confirmed settlement is the instrument delivered to the investor's identity-bound wallet and placed under qualified custody.

Who acts
Platform
What is recorded
The cash confirmation, then delivery of the instrument to the investor's wallet.
Step 07 · Service

The lifecycle runs on schedule.

Interest payments and redemptions are distributed to holders of record on their dates. Corporate actions are signed and recorded. Everything reconciles against the originator's books.

Who acts
Platform
What is recorded
Every interest payment, redemption and corporate action, against the holders of record on that date.
Step 08 · Secondary

Transfers stay inside the perimeter.

A holder may transfer to another approved holder. The instrument checks identity and eligibility before the transfer settles; a transfer to anyone else does not go through.

Who acts
Investor
What is recorded
The eligibility check, the transfer and the updated holders of record.

Settlement & custody

Where the cash moves, and who holds the position.

Two questions every credit and operations committee asks first. Neither is answered by the ledger alone: both rely on regulated institutions doing what they already do.

Settlement

Settle with ONE-CHAIN.

Every subscription and every distribution has a cash leg. On ONE-CHAIN that leg is settled through the platform, so payment and delivery are recorded in the same place.

The order matters. Cash is confirmed first; only then is the instrument delivered to the investor's wallet. If the cash does not arrive, the instrument does not move, so neither side is exposed to the other between payment and delivery.

Custody

Qualified custody, segregated per holder.

Positions are held under qualified custody arrangements, segregated per holder. An investor's holding is recorded against their verified identity and is not pooled with anyone else's.

Investors are not asked to manage private keys or run a wallet of their own. Keys are managed by ONE-CHAIN inside the platform and are never exposed publicly; the investor reaches their position through the platform.

Boundaries

What we don't do.

  • No retail access

    Participation is limited to regulated institutions and qualified investors. There is no public sign-up to buy.

  • No self-custody requirement

    Investors do not have to hold keys or operate a wallet themselves. Custody is handled under qualified arrangements.

  • No off-perimeter transfers

    An instrument cannot be sent to an exchange, a public wallet or any address outside the approved set.

ONE-CHAIN is pre-launch. Settlement and custody partners are not named on this site.

Technology

Boring, by design.

Nothing here should surprise an institution's technology or risk committee: known participants, an open token standard, and records an auditor can read.

  • Ledger

    Permissioned, known participants.

    A permissioned ledger: every party that can write to it or read from it is identified and approved.

  • Tokens (ERC-3643)

    Identity-bound by standard.

    Instruments follow ERC-3643, an open standard for permissioned tokens. Each token consults an identity registry and its compliance rules before any transfer.

  • Settlement

    Settle with ONE-CHAIN.

    Cash legs are settled through the platform. Instruments are delivered only against confirmed cash, and never outside the perimeter.

  • Custody

    Qualified, segregated.

    Positions are held under qualified custody arrangements, segregated per holder. Investors are not required to manage keys of their own.

  • Data

    Auditable from the first entry.

    Every state change is signed, time-stamped and attributable to an identified party. An audit reads the record instead of reconstructing it.

  • API

    For originator integration.

    Issuance, holdings, lifecycle and reporting interfaces for institutions that want to connect the platform to their core systems.