Net Asset Value (NAV)

NAV is a fund's price anchor. In a tokenized vehicle each token represents a share, and its correct price is the NAV per share. Money-market funds often keep a stable target NAV, for example one dollar, and distribute yield as new shares, or else let the NAV float. Because the calculation happens off-chain using the administrator's or custodian's valuations, that figure is published on-chain through an oracle so price, collateral and redemption contracts can consume it. Chainlink is one of the providers cited for fund NAV and proof-of-reserve feeds.

Without a reliable, on-chain-verifiable NAV the token cannot be safely used as a financial instrument or as collateral. NAV is the basis for redemptions, feeds the oracles, and determines how much the token is worth as collateral in protocols that accept it. Its key parameters are the feed update frequency and the authorized source of the figure, usually the fund administrator.

Two examples illustrate the NAV-per-token pattern with an oracle. Franklin Templeton's tokenized money-market fund FOBXX, with its BENJI token, launched in 2021. And BlackRock BUIDL, its USD institutional digital liquidity fund, launched in March 2024, which invests in cash, US Treasury bills and repos. Their assets-under-management figures are best treated as indicative, since they change quickly; the launch dates are stable.