General

What is Tangible?

Tangible an ecosystem for tokenized real world assets. Utilizing Real USD, a native yield stablecoin backed by real estate, the protocol offers users access to tokenized and fractionalized RWAs through their marketplace.

How Does Tangible Work?

On Tangible, anyone can use Real USD to purchase valuable physical goods from the world’s leading suppliers. Upon the purchase of an asset listed on Tangible, a TNFT (“Tangible non-fungible token”) is minted, representing the physical item. The physical item is then sent to one of Tangible’s secure and insured storage facilities, and the TNFT is sent to the buyer’s wallet.

At any time, the owner of the TNFT can redeem it for the physical item, transfer it to another wallet, or sell it on Tangible’s marketplace. The TNFT is a liquid, tradable and redeemable asset, represented by an on-chain NFT

When a user purchases a new item from Tangible Custody, for example a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1990…

  1. Users browse and purchase items on Tangible’s marketplace. Smart contracts process the item price, and storage fee where relevant.

  2. The TNFT is minted and sent to the user’s wallet, for safekeeping, trading, or selling.

  3. Concurrently, Tangible completes the purchase of the physical item from Tangible’s Supplier Partner.

  4. The purchased item is shipped to a Tangible Vault, where it is safely stored.

When a user purchases an item from another user on Tangible’s marketplace…

  1. Users again browse and purchase items on Tangible’s marketplace.

  2. The existing TNFT is transferred to the purchaser’s wallet.

  3. Concurrently, USDC tokens are sent from the Buyer’s wallet to the Seller’s wallet. Smart contracts process the trading fee, item purchase fee, and storage fee where relevant. The item remains in storage unless the Buyer decides to redeem it.

  4. 33.33% of the Tangible DAO fees are used to buy and burn TNGBL tokens, and the remaining 66.66% is distributed in USDC to Tangible 3,3+ stakers.

What problems does Tangible solve?

We identified two problems in the market today.

  1. Investors are looking to store their wealth in alternative asset classes, such as art, wine, and antiques, in order to hedge against inflation and unstable political and economic conditions. Most of these asset classes are illiquid, fragmented, and inefficient.

  2. Cryptocurrency has risen as an alternative store of value, but is cyclical and volatile. In addition, crypto investors lack access to emerging tangible asset classes (unless they leave the crypto ecosystem, and use fiat currency to purchase stores of value such as fine wine, jewelry, antique cars, and other collectibles).

Tangible bridges these two, by simultaneously providing a liquid market for off-chain assets, and allowing crypto investors to buy, sell, and trade tangible yet liquid assets. It makes complicated flows safer and easier, and removes the fragmented and inefficient processes that exist today.

Is There a Market For This?

The current annual global trading volume for collectible goods, including art, wine, and antique cars, is estimated to be over US$154bn.

With Tangible, these collectible goods can be minted into TNFTs and openly traded across the globe, enabling instantaneous transfers of value from cryptocurrencies into tangible assets.

We believe TNFTs will do to tangible assets what the internet did to retail.

Storing value with tangible assets has many benefits. From hedging against inflation to dodging a bear market in crypto, holding a tangible NFT allows anyone across the world to protect their wealth.

Ultimately, Tangible enables crypto investors to allocate funds to tangible assets without leaving the ecosystem.

Who will Tangible’s first customers be?

We envisage two early adopters of Tangible: (1) The Crypto Native and (2) The Real-World Collector.

The Crypto Native is aware of the cyclical nature of crypto markets, and wants to allocate a portion of their portfolio into physical assets that maintain a stable value. They are also eager to find an alternative to stablecoins that could provide a higher return. Over the past 20 years, fine wine has outperformed the S&P 500.

The Crypto Native wants to invest in a stable store of value that is relatively unabated by inflationary pressure. That is exactly what TNFTs provide.

The Real-World Collector already collects fine wine, antique cars, watches, and other valuable items. They find value in tangible collectables, but wish to make it easier to cash out when necessary. They need a fluid, immediate marketplace.

This Real-World Collector currently needs to store their entire collection, find buyers when they wish to sell, and go through a verification process at each step of the way. Collections are difficult to liquidate, and are nearly impossible to borrow against.

Tangible will offer the traditional collector the opportunity to transform their collectables into tradable and liquid assets that can be borrowed against by converting each asset into a tangible non-fungible token, or TNFT.

In the future, the traditional collector will be able to connect with the Tangible team, authenticate and store their collection with Tangible, and convert their physical assets into TNFTs. They will then be able to use their physical assets as collateral for crypto based loans and earn additional yield without being forced to sell the underlying asset.

Tangible helps the traditional collector turn their collection into assets that work for them.

Both of these early adopter cohorts — the heavily invested Crypto Native and the Real-World Collector — have problems solved by Tangible. We see them both as motivated users of the Tangible platform.

What currencies will Tangible accept?

Transactions in the marketplace are made in the protocol's stablecoin, Real USD (USDR)

What are Tangible Fractions?

Tangible Fractions are smaller fractions of a whole TNFT, and allow large ticket items (for example, a piece of real estate) to be split into more affordable pieces. They allow multiple owners to share in the risks and rewards of a single investment.

Any TNFT owner can, using the site’s fractionalization tools, easily sell any percentage on Tangible’s marketplace. The seller determines the price of the entire available percentage, as well as the minimum piece any single user can buy.

For example, the owner of a watch-backed TNFT – that they bought for $100k – could put 40% for sale on the Tangible marketplace at $42k. If they specified a minimum purchase size of 1%, multiple users could purchase 1% for $420, 1.5% for $630, or one user could even buy the entire 40% fraction for $42k.

The fractions are then sent to the user’s wallet, and the original TNFT is locked in a smart contract vault, and can only be redeemed or sold by someone who has collected all the individual fractions.

Fractions are ERC-721 tokens, the same as a whole TNFT. If the initial TNFT had early user TNGBL and USDC rewards, these claimable benefits pass on to the fractions and the fraction owners. The storage fee of the original TNFT is split equally between fractions, and each fraction’s owner is responsible for paying their share of future storage fees. Unpaid storage will lead to the fraction becoming frozen and untradeable, and the fraction will be seized by Tangible Custody after 180 days of unpaid storage.

Users who collect 100% of a fractionalized TNFT can de-fractionalize it, and can later re-fractionalize it into a different number of pieces, and sell for a different price.

Last updated