Research method
Ketju writes a dated memo on each protocol, with one verdict: approved with limits, not approved, or under review. Each memo lists the events that would make Ketju review it again. When Ketju replaces a memo, the old one stays in the dated archive. A class rule, such as the class rule for liquidity pools, can keep a protocol off the approved list, but Ketju does not treat the rule as a finding against that protocol. Only a review of the protocol itself can approve it.
Approved with limits: the research supports use within the limits the memo sets. Not approved: Ketju does not approve the protocol, and the memo states why. Either the evidence weighs against the protocol, or Ketju made no finding against it and one of three facts keeps it off the list: its structure is outside the approved types, it is too small for a client to sell at size, or Ketju has not chosen it among providers of the same kind. Under review: the evidence does not yet settle it. The advisor decides whether a client holds a position, and how much.
Ketju checks four parts of a position: the asset (who can freeze it), the protocol (what its governance can do), the chain (who orders transactions and holds upgrade keys), and the custody (who holds the keys). A sound protocol does not remove the control that an issuer, a chain operator, or a custodian holds. Ketju reports a protocol’s TVL from its source only to show its size. To know whether a client can withdraw a given amount, the advisor needs a reading for that protocol at that amount.
In the Atlas, a peer must use the same kind of asset for the same client purpose, and its protocol must be approved. Ketju never replaces a stablecoin with ETH to get a better control result. The closest structure comes first, and reported TVL breaks ties. Ketju shows yield but never uses it to choose or rank a peer. When no position meets those rules, the Atlas lists none.
Ketju uses a protocol’s size to decide whether a client could sell at size. Size does not change Ketju’s judgment of the protocol’s quality. Ketju can leave a small protocol unapproved because a client could not sell a large position, without calling the protocol unsafe. Before a client buys, the advisor must check how much of the proposed amount could be sold or withdrawn, and record what remains uncertain.
Ketju checks alerts every day and reviews each approved memo at least once a quarter. When a review trigger fires, Ketju reviews the memo that week and does not wait for the scheduled date. Memos that are not approved or under review stay in Ketju’s coverage, and Ketju reviews them on a schedule that fits the evidence.
Ketju keeps one eligibility file for each tokenized stock, ETF, fund, credit pool, property, or commodity program. The file states what the holder owns, in the terms the SEC staff used in January 2026. In an issuer-direct program, the on-chain record is the securityholder file. In an issuer-indirect program, the token points at a record kept elsewhere. In a third-party custodial program, a broker’s entitlement takes the form of a token. In a third-party synthetic program, a note pays like the security and carries no rights in it. From October 2026 there is also the DTC-tokenized share, which keeps the same CUSIP. The file then quotes the issuer on who may buy, hold, transfer, and redeem. It names who can freeze, pause, or claw back, with the contract function named and read on chain. It also states how a holder sells or redeems, which venues list the token, and which event would change any of those answers. Ketju does not infer eligibility from a token’s presence in a wallet. Every day Ketju reads each file’s control functions and the contracts they consult, its on-chain supply, and its market quote. A change opens a review before any client action. See the files →
Ketju accepts no compensation from any protocol, chain, or issuer it covers. Ketju reports observed yield but never uses it to choose, rank, approve, or turn down a position.
The research governance page sets out Ketju’s policies on publication, corrections, source receipts, review cadence, and incidents, with current coverage and the dates of the latest reviews.