Every tokenized fixed-income product depends on data from outside the chain: a price, a net asset value, a pool factor, a balance. That data determines what the token is worth and how it settles. This checklist is for anyone evaluating a tokenized product, whether as a platform, an institution, a data provider or an auditor. It is not investment advice.
1. Where does the data come from?
Is the value drawn from a single feed, or from multiple authoritative sources? If more than one source is used, is there a defined hierarchy that ranks them? A product that relies on a single feed inherits every error and delay in that feed.
2. Are the sources compared before the data is used?
Cross-validation means comparing sources against each other before anything moves forward. Ask what tolerance is applied, and whether agreement is checked every time the data updates or only occasionally.
3. What happens when sources disagree?
This is the most revealing question. Does the process stop, or does it pick a number and continue? A rigorous process halts the claim and routes it to a defined resolution path. Disagreement should never be resolved silently.
4. What happens when data is stale?
Fixed-income data updates on a schedule. If an update is late, does the product keep using the last figure without saying so, or is the claim rejected with the reason recorded?
5. Is the record signed and timestamped?
A signed, timestamped record shows exactly what value was confirmed and when. Without one, it is hard to reconstruct what a settlement relied on.
6. Who can check it, and with what?
Can a third party confirm the record without asking the publisher? A verification tool that is separate from the publisher lets any party confirm a signature and read the audit trail on their own.
7. Will the record still be checkable later?
Financial records stay relevant for years. Ask whether the signature scheme is expected to hold up over the life of the asset, and whether the record will still be readable long after the moment it describes.
8. Does the party confirming the data have a stake in it?
The attestor should have no stake in the outcome it confirms. A party that also trades, holds customer assets or runs the market has a conflict that independent attestation is designed to avoid.
If a product can answer all eight questions with evidence, its data is defensible. If it cannot, the gap is worth understanding before relying on it.
These questions follow the four properties OWNR designs every attestation around: independent, verifiable, methodical and durable. Read what data attestation is.