BlockBeats news, on December 24, Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer of cryptocurrency venture capital firm Variant Fund, stated on social media that "the debate about tokens versus equity is just beginning. Many crypto projects originated during the era of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, when strong regulatory pressure forced development companies to direct nearly all value toward equity rather than tokens. Now, the policy environment is changing, new opportunities are emerging, and it will take a lot of time and experimentation to figure out how (or if) tokens and equity can effectively coexist. This round of experimentation is starting right now.",
I do not have a particular stance on the specific situation of Aave; I just want to emphasize one point: clarity is always the most important. Token holders must clearly know what they actually own, what they can control, and what they cannot control. The design space for token value capture is extremely broad, far greater than traditional equity. I believe that for a considerable period of time, it will be unlikely to form a standardized token model like stocks. We believe that tokens should carry on-chain value, while equity should carry off-chain value. The core innovation unlocked by tokens is self-sovereign ownership of digital property. Tokens enable holders to own and control on-chain infrastructure directly without relying on off-chain intermediaries.
Off-chain value is different. Token holders cannot directly own or control off-chain income or assets; therefore, in most cases, this value should belong to equity rather than tokens. Of course, other models may also work. Some projects may choose a single asset model without any equity; others may decide to treat their tokens as tokenized securities and apply the new rules that the SEC will establish for that market in the future.
