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Tokenized real-world assets

RealUnit Shares (REALU)

Not approved The evidence weighs against it
Verdict
Not approved
The evidence weighs against it
Who can freeze it
No freeze key
Withdrawals
RealUnit does not redeem shares.
Reviewed
2026-09-23 · next 2027-03-23
Researched memo

Summary

Ketju does not approve RealUnit Shares (REALU): RealUnit Schweiz AG bars US persons from its offer, and a holder can sell only to the company, at a price the company sets. REALU is a registered share of RealUnit Schweiz AG, an investment company in Baar that holds gold, silver, Swiss stocks, banknotes and a little bitcoin. Each token is one share, issued as a Swiss ledger-based security under article 973d of the Code of Obligations. The company addresses its offer only to residents of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. It names the United States as restricted and has not registered the shares under the US Securities Act. The company’s multisig owns the token contract. The multisig can switch on an allowlist and mark any address forbidden; the allowlist was off when we read the contract on 23 September 2026.

Research

How it works

The Registration Agreement of 3 March 2026 names the issuer, RealUnit Schweiz AG of Baar (CHE-153.894.905), and the instrument, its registered shares (Namenaktien). It gives the form: ”Ledger-based securities as defined in article 973d ss. of the Swiss Code of Obligations.” On request, the company mints ”exactly one indivisible Share Token” for each share. From then on, nobody can transfer the share, or use the right to be entered in the register, without the token. The holder therefore has title on chain, directly from the issuer. This is the same legal form as Aktionariat AG’s own DAKS.

The company has two classes of share with the same CHF 1.00 nominal value. The articles of 10 April 2026 set the capital at CHF 49,093,976: 4,631,855 registered shares and 44,462,121 bearer shares. On 23 September 2026 the contract showed 4,631,760 tokens and a declared total of 49,093,976 shares, so almost every registered share is a token. The bearer shares are book-entry securities in bank custody. They trade on BX Swiss under ISIN CH1129911108. The company’s own comparison table gives both classes an ownership share and a seat at the general meeting. Its FAQ says a bearer share cannot be converted into a token. A bearer holder who wants tokens sells on the exchange and buys on the bot, and a token holder cannot sell on the exchange.

The company keeps two registers. The contract records who holds each share. The company’s share register, which Aktionariat keeps, records who may use the rights: ”Only persons registered in the Share Register are entitled to the rights as a shareholder, such as voting and dividend rights.” The DAKS agreement makes registration optional; RealUnit’s makes it a duty. Holders ”agree to register with the Issuer as shareholders within a short period after acquiring” tokens. The company may refuse or strike anyone who gives false information, including tax data under the automatic exchange of information act.

Size and holdings

RealUnit is an investment company and does not operate as a fund. The articles let it hold stakes, funds, financial instruments, property and ”Vermögenswerte aller Art” (assets of every kind), under an investment policy that its board sets. At 30 June 2026 the company reported these holdings:

36.9% in physical gold and silver (145 kg of gold, 4,895 kg of silver), stored in vaults in German-speaking Switzerland; 29.9% in mostly Swiss listed shares; 20.0% in bank deposits; 7.3% in CHF 4.5 million of banknotes held outside the banks; 3.3% in unlisted holdings; and 2.5% in 18.6 bitcoin and 100 staked ether.

The half-year report shows equity of CHF 62.1 million and a loss for the half, which the company attributed to precious metals. The company publishes an indicative net asset value, CHF 1.33 a share on 23 September 2026, and says it may differ from the true figure.

A holder owns a share of the company and has no claim on the metal or any bar. The holder has no right to redeem at net asset value. Under its capital band, the company may issue up to 24.5 million new shares of either class until 10 April 2028. It may exclude existing holders from the new issue, and it did so in a capital increase announced on 17 September 2026.

Eligibility

The legal notice on every RealUnit page says: ”Die Dokumente richten sich nur an Personen mit Wohnsitz in der Schweiz, Deutschland, Österreich und Liechtenstein” (the documents are directed only at residents of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein). It names the United States, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia as restricted. It says the shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act. The company says it has an approved EU growth prospectus for its offer in the EU. While its allowlist is off, the contract checks nothing, and any address can receive a token.

Withdrawals

RealUnit does not redeem shares. The company runs an Aktionariat Brokerbot at 0xcb3a03c5…. Its FAQ names the counterparty: ”Die Gegenpartei ist die RealUnit Schweiz AG” (the counterparty is RealUnit Schweiz AG). The company must arrange trades above CHF 100,000 in advance. On 23 September 2026 the bot quoted ZCHF 1.23 a share to buy and to sell. That price was below the indicative NAV of CHF 1.33 and below the last trade of CHF 1.38 on the investor page. The bot held no REALU and no Frankencoin of its own, so the company funds trades from its own wallet. The app takes 1% on a sale. A holder therefore sells at the price the company sets, when the company chooses to buy. The listed bearer shares, the company’s other class, are not open to a token holder.

Who controls it

The contract at 0x553C7f9C… is Aktionariat’s AllowlistShares, verified on Sourcify. It is not a proxy, and nobody can upgrade it. Its owner is an Aktionariat multisig wallet (0x66e17bb3…, six signer entries; its recent transactions carry two signatures). The company names this multisig as its own wallet. No key can pause the contract or move a holder’s tokens. The owner has four powers that matter to a holder.

First, the allowlist. setApplicable(true) turns transfer restrictions on, and setType(address, type) marks an address allowlisted, forbidden or powerlisted. With restrictions on, a forbidden address cannot receive tokens. An allowlisted or forbidden holder can send only to allowlisted addresses. Newly minted tokens land allowlisted because the mint source is powerlisted. An address with no flag can still send to anyone. When the owner marks a holder forbidden, the holder can send only to an approved address such as the company, so the effect is a freeze. restrictTransfers() read false on 23 September 2026. The agreement says the allowlist ”is deactivated at the time of adoption of this Agreement.” It warns that the tokens ”may become subject to technical transfer restrictions (allowlisting)” for Swiss legal compliance.

Second, minting. mint() creates tokens up to totalShares. The owner sets totalShares, and the code keeps it at or above the valid supply. Third, declareInvalid() records that a court has cancelled tokens; the code says it is ”purely declarative” and does not move them. Fourth, recovery. The contract connects to Aktionariat’s RecoveryHub (0x9b886c04…). A claimant posts collateral (REALU one for one, or one Frankencoin per share) against an address that the claimant says is lost. If that address makes no transaction for 180 days, the claimant takes its tokens. The owner, as claim deleter, can cancel a pending claim, and a holder can opt out per address. A holder who leaves a cold wallet untouched without opting out carries that risk. No function lets the owner take a holder’s tokens directly.

Comparison

DAKS, Aktionariat AG’s own share, uses an older contract with no allowlist, and every DAKS token is wrapped in a drag-along. RealUnit uses the newer allowlist contract and no drag-along, so no buyer can force a sale. However, the company can restrict every transfer with one multisig call. For Exodus and SECZ, a US transfer agent keeps the share register, and an agent holds keys to freeze or seize. RealUnit keeps the register on chain and holds a switch that can stop transfers. REALU differs from these in the business behind it: a CHF 62 million holding company of metal, Swiss equities and cash, with a listed sister class. We found no defect in the legal form of the token. The offer is closed to US investors, and a holder can sell only through the issuer.

Sources

Each claim above comes from one of these sources. Where Ketju could not verify a number, the memo states that.

The asset and the chain

This memo covers the protocol. A position also holds an asset and settles on a chain. Whichever of the three holds the most power over the position decides who can freeze it. These tables describe control and do not judge quality.

ChainVerdictFreezeWhat it can do
EthereumApproved No freeze key Ethereum has no sequencer, no upgrade key and no operator who can be compelled to act; rule changes require social consensus.
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