RWA Strategy Comparison

Five paths to ship $SWAP — side by side.

Tokeny · Centrifuge full · Centrifuge Whitelabel · Solo · Upside

Source: token-strategy.md §2 · token-playbook.md §7–§15 · upside-gg-win-loss-analysis.md

Feature comparison

Feature Tokeny Centrifuge Centrifuge Whitelabel Solo Upside
Sovereignty
Token = your own contract ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
Multi-tranche native (N independent tokens) ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
Open standard (ERC-3643, vendor-portable) ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
Kenya CMA precedent applies (Yeshara) ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
What's bundled
Bundled KYC ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Bundled transfer agent ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Bundled investor portal + LP network ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Bundled distribution / yield contract ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Gasless yield claim (relayer) ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
Multi-chain (Solana RWA support) ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
Cost & speed
Year-1 all-in ≤ $300k ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅
Recurring annual ≤ $100k (base, excl. variable) ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Audit cost ≤ $80k ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Time-to-first-yield ≤ 7 mo ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅
Score (✅ count) 10 6 8 5 8

Shared upstream not shown: all paths run KES → USDC via Kotani Pay + Yellow Card (~2.5–3.5% per round-trip). Centrifuge "Recurring ≤ $100k" is ✅ on base only — adds AUM bps (CP162, capped 25 bps). Tokeny recurring $145k driven by annual platform fee. Upside cells provisional pending Chris Hornor call.

Tokeny — roadmap & cost

ERC-3643 hybrid · BVI issuer + Kenya OpCo · ~$293k year-1 median

# Step Window Cost (USD)
1 BVI SPV incorporation May wk 1–2 25k
2 CMA sandbox pre-engagement + filing May wk 1–4 21k
3 Tokeny term sheet → MSA · T-REX fork May–Jun ~45k setup (annual platform fee ~60k)
4 Sumsub + Civic + ONCHAINID wiring May–Jun bundled in platform
5 Custom modules: NAVOracle / Distributor / RedemptionQueue / MPesaAdapter Jun–Jul 35k contract dev
6 Redstone TSSO + W3bstream Merkle integration Jul 12k
7 Audit (OpenZeppelin/Spearbit — custom modules only) Jul–Aug 70k
8 CMA No-Objection · Base sepolia KPI window Sep —
9 Mainnet deploy SR token + Morpho V2 listing Oct 50k LP seed (Apex bundled)
10 First investor subscription Nov —
11 First yield distribution (KES → USDC → on-chain → M-Pesa) Dec 5k gas + ops
12 JR + SP tranches Q1 2027 +audit incremental

Year-1 total: ~$293k median. Recurring yr-2+: ~$145k (annual platform + ops).

Tokeny — pros & cons

Pros

  • You own the token — $SWAP is your ERC-3643 contract, not the vendor's
  • Open standard — Apex / Archax portable; vendor switch ≠ redeploy
  • ERC-3643 is Final with $32B+ TVL across 180+ jurisdictions
  • Yeshara precedent applies — same BVI + Kenya OpCo two-tier
  • N independent tranche tokens (SR / JR / SP) — clean cap tables
  • Audit collapses from ~$160k to ~$70k (T-REX core already audited)
  • Apex Group transfer agent + investor portal bundled
  • Strongest EMEA + Middle East distribution (Tokeny Abu Dhabi)

Cons

  • Annual platform fee ~$40–80k (vs $0 solo, $0 Centrifuge full)
  • Build your own RevenueDistributor — no opinionated yield contract
  • Weak on US (no FINRA broker-dealer in stack — Securitize for that)
  • IoT-NAV oracle is your problem (Tokeny doesn't ship one)
  • Sales-led pricing — term sheet negotiation is the gate
  • Recurring yr-2+ ($145k) is highest of the 5 paths
  • Vendor portability is theoretical until first switch is tested

Centrifuge full — roadmap & cost

V3 full issuer · BVI + Kenya OpCo · Base as hub · ~$335k year-1 median

# Step Window Cost (USD)
1 Hub chain + denomination decision (USDC, immutable) wk 1 0
2 BVI SPV + Kenyan opco incorporation 8–14 wk 60–150k (~75k med)
3 CMA sandbox filing parallel bundled in legal
4 Fund admin + custodian + auditor + oracle retainers wk 4 15–25k
5 Draft POP RFC on gov.centrifuge.io 2–3 wk 0
6 CFG-holder on-chain vote (CP68, 7-day minimum) 7–14 d 0
7 Centrifuge core whitelists pool manager address <1 wk 0
8 Custom contracts: transfer hook + W3bstream IValuation 8–12 wk ~60k contract dev
9 Audit (Spearbit / Cantina / Code4rena) 6–10 wk 70k
10 createPool + add 3 ShareClasses + deploy AsyncVaults days <$1k gas total
11 Centrifuge Onboarding (Shufti Pro KYC) + sub-doc 2 wk bundled
12 Stand up Kotani + Yellow Card on-ramp 2 wk 5–10k float
13 First investor subscribes via requestDeposit · first epoch 6–9 mo in LP seed 110k
14 Annual fund / SOC audit (yr-1 recurring) Q4 2026 50k

Year-1 total: ~$335k median. Recurring yr-2+: ~$95k + AUM bps (CP162 protocol fee).

Centrifuge full — pros & cons

Pros

  • Bundled fund admin + KYC + transfer agent + annual audit — single vendor surface
  • Centrifuge distribution channel (Anemoy, BlockTower, Coinbase, MakerDAO)
  • $100M+ TVL, well-known team, CFG governance — low vendor risk
  • Pool-based yield distribution built in (epoch accounting via Holdings + AsyncVault)
  • Lowest gas-to-launch (<$1k total on-chain)
  • AUM-bps pricing scales cheaply — competitive at $5M+ AUM
  • Centrifuge V3.1 on Plume = future spoke-out optionality

Cons

  • Token is ShareToken (Centrifuge's contract) — not $SWAP
  • Multi-tranche = 3 share classes per pool, not N independent tokens
  • No senior/junior waterfall contract in V3 — encode it yourself in IValuation
  • POP governance approval: RFC + CFG vote = 3–4 weeks gated
  • No Kenya CMA / Yeshara precedent — sandbox argument starts cold
  • IValuation for W3bstream is first-of-kind — full audit weight
  • Excluded-country list not public — confirm with ops pre-launch
  • Protocol fee under CP162 not finalised (cap planning at 25 bps)

Centrifuge Whitelabel — roadmap & cost

V3 + Centrifuge-deployed ShareToken · BVI + Kenya OpCo · ~$263k year-1 median

# Step Window Cost (USD)
1 BVI SPV + Kenya opco 8–14 wk 25k
2 CMA sandbox filing parallel 21k
3 Whitelabel term sheet (sales-led — Daylight comparable) 2–4 wk ~50k platform est.
4 POP governance approval (RFC + CFG vote) 4–8 wk 0
5 Wire NAV oracle as custom IValuation 4–6 wk 15–25k integration
6 Custom ITransferHook (KYC + VASP + jurisdiction gate) 2–3 wk included
7 Custom monthly redemption module on top of ERC-7540 vault 2–3 wk included
8 Audit (custom surface only) 4–6 wk 60k
9 Pool launch with single-class ShareToken 1 d <$1k gas
10 Centrifuge Onboarding (Shufti Pro KYC) live 2 wk bundled
11 First subscription · first yield via epoch close 5–7 mo in 50k LP seed

Year-1 total: ~$263k median — cheapest of the 5 paths. Recurring yr-2+: ~$80k + Whitelabel fee.

Daylight (energy-infra RWA) is the live precedent — direct dev-rel conversation worth having.

Centrifuge Whitelabel — pros & cons

Pros

  • Cheapest year-1 of the five (~$263k median)
  • Fastest to first yield (5–7 mo) — no full T-REX audit, no token-factory work
  • Centrifuge bundles fund admin + KYC (Shufti Pro) + transfer agent + annual SOC audit
  • You keep the IoT NAV oracle, redemption window, and transfer-hook compliance
  • Daylight precedent (energy-infra) shape-fits Powerhive
  • Smaller custom audit surface (~$60k) vs full path
  • POP governance still required but lighter than full issuer

Cons

  • Investor instrument is ShareToken, not $SWAP — token-as-instrument lost
  • Single share class only — multi-tranche = N separate Centrifuge pools or off-chain register
  • Highest vendor lock-in of the 5 paths — token literally is Centrifuge's
  • POP approval (4–8 wk) — no stealth launch
  • Whitelabel pricing not public — sales-call dependent
  • No CMA / Yeshara precedent
  • Switching off Centrifuge later = redeploy (vs Tokeny multi-vendor)

Solo — roadmap & cost

Full T-REX self-deploy on Base · BVI + Kenya OpCo · ~$437k year-1 median

# Step Window Cost (USD)
1 BVI SPV setup + yr-1 admin 4–8 wk 25k
2 Kenya legal opinion + CMA sandbox filing parallel 21k
3 Fork T-REX repo · spec NAV oracle Jun included in dev
4 Contract dev: T-REX fork + 4 custom modules (~2000–3000 LoC) 8–12 wk 70k
5 Audit #1 — OpenZeppelin or Spearbit (3 wk) Jul–Aug 110k
6 Audit #2 — Code4rena contest (2 wk) Aug 50k
7 KYC stack: Sumsub MSA + Civic Pass parallel 9k yr-1
8 Engage Kenya-licensed transfer agent / registrar parallel 10k yr-1
9 Token-as-security legal opinion (BVI/UK counsel) 4 wk 25k
10 Oracle: Redstone TSSO + W3bstream parallel 12k
11 Mainnet deploy + Morpho vault primer + DEX LP Oct 100k LP seed
12 First subscription · first yield 5–7 mo in 5k gas + ops

Year-1 total: ~$437k median. Recurring yr-2+: ~$93k — cheapest steady-state once AUM > $5M.

Solo — pros & cons

Pros

  • Zero vendor lock-in — every contract is yours
  • Cheapest recurring (~$93k yr-2+) — no platform fee
  • Full control of token standard, transfer hook, NAV oracle, redemption queue
  • Multi-tranche N independent tokens, identical to Tokeny
  • Yeshara CMA precedent applies (same BVI + Kenya OpCo)
  • Trigger plan: switch from Tokeny to Solo if annual fee exceeds $80k
  • No POP / governance / term-sheet gating — pure engineering velocity

Cons

  • Most expensive year-1 (~$437k median, up to $740k high)
  • Full audit of T-REX core (~$160k) — Tokeny skips this
  • No bundled KYC / transfer agent / portal — build it all
  • No investor distribution network — find LPs yourself
  • Engineering bandwidth burn during Jun–Aug audit + meme overlap
  • Highest engineering-talent risk — single contractor exit = critical path slip
  • No fallback to a vendor SLA if a contract breaks post-launch

Upside — roadmap & cost

⚠️ Provisional — pricing pending Chris Hornor call debrief · ~$248–298k year-1 estimated

# Step Window Cost (USD)
1 BVI SPV setup 4–8 wk 25k
2 Kenya legal + CMA sandbox filing (independent — Upside is US-only) parallel 21k
3 Upside MSA + Option B integration scoping (ERC-3643 wrapper) 2–4 wk ⚠️ $10–40k/yr platform fee
4 Custom: ERC-3643 contracts + Upside TA API integration 6–8 wk ⚠️ 30–45k
5 Wire Upside InterestPayment v5 for yield distribution 2 wk bundled (Quantstamp-audited)
6 IoT NAV oracle: Redstone TSSO + W3bstream parallel 12k
7 Audit (custom surface — InterestPayment skipped, pre-audited) 4–6 wk ⚠️ 50–70k
8 Upside Relayer API: gasless claim() for Kenyan retail 1 wk bundled
9 Token-as-security legal opinion (BVI/UK) 4 wk 20k
10 Mainnet deploy + LP seed Oct 75k
11 First subscription · first yield (gasless) 5–7 mo in 5k gas + ops

Year-1 total: ⚠️ ~$248–298k provisional. Below $10k/yr platform fee → cheapest; above $40k/yr → non-starter.

Open questions for Chris: (1) pricing? (2) Option B confirmed — deploy own ERC-3643 + use Upside for KYC + distribution only? (3) team / funding stability?

Upside — pros & cons

Pros

  • Gasless yield claim via Relayer API — only path that ships this
  • v5 InterestPayment is production-grade, Quantstamp-audited — saves ~$25–40k dev + $40–60k audit
  • Bundled KYC via Transfer Agent API — replaces Sumsub + Civic
  • Multi-type investors (Reg D / Reg S / Reg CF) in a single contract
  • EVM + Solana support from a single platform (future-optionality)
  • Cheapest path overall at optimistic pricing (~$248k)

Cons

  • ⚠️ Pricing unknown — load-bearing unknown blocks the entire comparison
  • Highest vendor maturity risk — opaque entity (CoMakery dba Upside), no Crunchbase, unknown funding
  • No IoT oracle pipeline — W3bstream + Redstone still entirely on you
  • US-centric compliance — Kenya DPA, CMA sandbox, M-Pesa all independent
  • ERC-3643 custom integration unconfirmed — Option B vs Option A pending
  • No investor distribution network — TA API ≠ Apex's LP network
  • No Yeshara / Kenya precedent
  • Recommendation: Contingency C only, not primary, until pricing confirmed

Summary

  • Cheapest year-1 (median): Centrifuge Whitelabel $263k → Upside ⚠️ ~$273k provisional → Tokeny $293k → Centrifuge full $335k → Solo $437k
  • Cheapest steady-state (yr-2+): Solo ($93k) — if AUM > $5M crosses break-even
  • You own the token: Tokeny · Solo
  • Bundled distribution contract: Centrifuge · Whitelabel · Upside
  • Gasless yield (Kenyan retail UX): Upside only

Current recommendation: Tokeny primary · Centrifuge Whitelabel Contingency A · Upside Contingency C (pending pricing).

Decision detail: [[token-strategy]] §2 · pricing: [[token-playbook]] §15 · Upside: [[upside-gg-win-loss-analysis]]