In the traditional economic system, infrastructure such as highways, data centers, and energy grids face pain points such as high investment thresholds, complex property rights division, and insufficient liquidity, making it difficult for ordinary investors to participate in value distribution. With the development of blockchain technology, tokenized infrastructure (Tokenized Infrastructure) has built a new economic ecology of "assets on the chain are confirmed, and equity circulation is programmable" by converting the equity of physical or digital infrastructure into tradable digital tokens. How does this innovative model break through the investment barriers of traditional infrastructure? In which areas will it reshape the allocation logic of production factors?
Core concept: Infrastructure equity certificates circulating on the chain
Tokenized infrastructure refers to the process of converting ownership, income rights, usage rights and other rights of infrastructure into standardized digital tokens through blockchain technology. Its core is to realize the value mapping between the physical world and digital finance through tokenization. Compared with traditional infrastructure investment, its core features include:
- Decentralized property rights division : Split high-value infrastructure assets (such as 1 billion yuan wind power plants) into 1 million tokens (1 = 100 yuan), and investors can obtain corresponding proportion of income rights by holding tokens, such as electricity revenue sharing, asset appreciation dividend;
- Liquidity instant activation : Tokens can be traded on blockchain 7x24 hours a day, breaking the limitations of traditional infrastructure "long investment cycle and difficult exit". For example, the tokenized shares of an airport expansion project can be traded in real time on compliance platforms such as HashKey Exchange , increasing liquidity by more than 50 times;
- Programmable equity management : Smart contracts have preset equity distribution rules, such as "highway token holders automatically receive 80% of toll income per month", and dividends are automatically executed and stored on the chain upon expiration to avoid manual intervention and settlement delays.
According to the type of infrastructure, tokenization can be divided into two categories:
- Physical infrastructure tokens : corresponding to physical assets such as railways, bridges, real estate, etc., such as rental income tokens published by a commercial office building, holders receive monthly rent in proportion;
- Digital Infrastructure Tokens : Mapping virtual assets such as Data center, blockchain nodes, and Cloud Service resources, such as storage node tokens of the Filecoin network, representing the right to use and benefit from distributed storage resources.
Technical architecture: a multi-layer protocol-driven value interconnection system
The Technology Implementation of Tokenized Infrastructure is centered around "asset ownership confirmation-equity transfer-compliance supervision", constructing a blockchain-driven three-tier architecture.
- Underlying blockchain and token standards
Choose a permissioned chain (such as Hyperledger Fabric) or a compliance public chain (such as Polkadot) as the underlying layer, and adopt a token protocol suitable for infrastructure scenarios.
- ST-20 Protocol : Designed specifically for Securitization tokens, it supports setting compliance attributes such as lock-up period and profit distribution ratio. For example, a municipal highway tokenization project limits "individual investors' holdings to no more than 1% of the total amount" through the ST-20 protocol, which complies with the "Infrastructure REITs Management Measures".
- Cross-chain interoperability : By leveraging technologies such as Avalanche subnet and Polkadot cross-chain bridge, infrastructure tokens on different blockchains can be interoperable. For example, users can cross-chain wind power tokens on Ethereum to Binance Smart Chain to participate in cross-chain liquidity mining.
- Smart contract automation management
Smart contracts undertake the full lifecycle management function of infrastructure tokens.
- Asset on-chain confirmation : Collect infrastructure data (such as power generation and data center energy consumption) through Internet of Things (IoT) devices, generate unique hash values for on-chain, and ensure that "asset status can be verified". A photovoltaic power station project uses smart contracts to real-time on-chain the power generation data of each solar panel as the basis for profit distribution.
- Equity distribution execution : preset profit distribution rules (such as "90% of quarterly Net Profit is used for dividends"), and the profit (such as stablecoin USDC) will be automatically distributed to the token holder's address when the contract expires. A certain Data center tokenization project realizes "automatic splitting of computing power rental income" through smart contracts, and investors can obtain profits without manual operation.
- Compliance Embedding : Integrate KYC/AML modules to verify investor qualifications and ensure compliance with Accredited Investors standards. HashKey Exchange automatically screens eligible investors through smart contracts in tokenized infrastructure projects to ensure that transactions operate within the regulatory framework.
- Integration of Internet of Things and Digital Twin Technology
Virtual mirroring of infrastructure is built through Digital Twin technology to achieve real-time synchronization between the physical world and on-chain data.
- Status monitoring : Sensors collect real-time bridge vibration frequency, pipeline pressure and other data on the chain, and smart contracts trigger warnings based on preset thresholds (such as "freeze relevant token transactions when the bridge pier displacement exceeds 5mm");
- Asset digitization : Store building BIM models, equipment maintenance records and other files in IPFS, and only record the hash value on the chain to form an immutable asset file. A certain smart city project uses this Technology Implementation to "on-chain ownership and full lifecycle management of building assets".
Application scenario: Efficiency innovation of production factors in multiple fields
Tokenized infrastructure is moving from theory to practice, releasing asset value in different fields.
- Popularization breakthrough of traditional infrastructure financing
Local governments or enterprises can reduce the investment threshold by tokenizing and splitting large projects.
- A port expansion project publishes 1 billion tokens, which ordinary investors can purchase starting from $100 through HashKey Exchange to share the benefits brought by the increase in port container throughput;
- In the field of rural revitalization, tokenizing farmland water conservancy facilities allows urban investors to receive a share of agricultural product sales revenue after purchasing, forming a new path of "urban giving back to rural areas".
- The Shared Transformation of Digital Economy Infrastructure
Tokenization achieves efficient resource allocation in fields such as Cloud Service and blockchain nodes.
- Cloud Service vendors split server computing power into tokens, allowing users to purchase "computing power tokens" on demand, call resources in real-time, and pay based on usage, avoiding the "idle resources" problem of traditional Cloud as a Service.
- The node operators of the blockchain network publish "node tokens", and investors can share the network transaction fee income after purchasing them. For example, holders of node tokens in the Solana ecosystem can obtain 30% of the on-chain transaction income according to the staking ratio.
- Value Connector for Cross-Domain Collaboration
Tokenized infrastructure becomes a bridge between the physical world and digital finance.
- In the field of new energy, the "charging pile tokens" held by users can be used in different brands of charging networks. The charging fee is automatically deducted from the token balance, while accumulating carbon points to exchange for other benefits.
- In the cultural tourism industry, the maintenance cost of historical buildings is tokenized through crowd funding. Investors can obtain priority purchase rights or visiting privileges for merchandise products around the buildings, achieving a win-win situation of "cultural protection + value sharing".
Despite the broad prospects of tokenized infrastructure, its development still faces challenges such as inconsistent regulatory frameworks (such as the legal definition of "infrastructure tokens" in various countries), incomplete technical standards (such as cross-chain data exchange protocols), and insufficient market awareness. With the deepening of global digital transformation, tokenized infrastructure is expected to become the core link connecting "physical assets" and "digital economy", allowing the distribution of production factors to move from "institutional monopoly" to "decentralized and inclusive", and promoting human society towards a more efficient and inclusive economic paradigm.