RWA · STABLECOIN YIELD · TOKENIZATION
A Reference Guide

The Tokenization
Glossary

Plain-English definitions of 25 terms that show up most often in tokenization marketing, offering documents, and regulatory text.

Julie James
Founder, Women in Crypto Global · Editor, Tokenized Report ·
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10 pages · PDF · Published May 2026

Why this glossary exists.

Most crypto glossaries are written by people who already speak crypto, for people who already speak crypto. They define one piece of jargon by using three other pieces of jargon, which is how you end up with a 400-word definition of "smart contract" that requires you to already know what "EVM," "gas," and "oracle" mean.

This is a glossary for everyone else. Each term has two definitions: the industry version (what you'll actually read in offering documents and product pages) and the plain version (what it actually means). The goal is not to make you sound like you work in crypto. The goal is to let you read a tokenization pitch and understand what is actually being offered.

"Jargon is the place where confusion gets hidden."

What's inside.

Twenty-five terms organized into four sections, with industry-standard definitions paired with plain-English explanations. Designed to be referenced as needed, not read cover to cover.

Section One
The Foundations
Blockchain, Token, Tokenization, Smart Contract, On-chain vs Off-chain
Section Two
The Asset Types
RWA, Tokenized Treasury, Stablecoin, Tokenized Equity, Private Credit
Section Three
The Regulatory Terms
Accredited Investor, Reg D, Reg A+, GENIUS Act, CLARITY Act
Section Four
Structure and Risk
SPV, Bankruptcy Remoteness, Custodian, Proof of Reserves, Oracle, Attestation, Yield, Composability, Secondary Market, Permissioned vs Permissionless

A sample entry.

Every term in the glossary follows the same format. Here is one example, lifted directly from the guide:

From Section Four · Structure and Risk
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
Industry: A legal entity created to hold specific assets and isolate them from the operating company's broader balance sheet.
Plain English
A separate company set up to own just one specific asset (a building, a loan portfolio, a piece of art). The tokens you buy represent shares of the SPV, not the asset itself. The point of an SPV is to protect investors if the platform that created it goes bankrupt. If the SPV is properly structured, the asset stays safe even if the parent company fails.

Who it's for.

Anyone who has ever read a tokenization pitch and gotten lost in the language. Advisors who need to translate technical terms for clients. Journalists covering the space who want a reliable reference. Family members helping older relatives evaluate investment opportunities.

Most people in this space, including many of the people selling it, don't fully understand half these terms. After reading this guide, you will know more than most of them.

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Tokenized Report publishes Sunday mornings. Three stories, one chart, one tactic. Built for people who don't have time for crypto Twitter.