How do Tessera Token Work?

Disclaimer: This article provides general information to help explain Tessera's Terms and Conditions in simpler language. It is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, investment, or tax advice. T-Tokens represent loan participation rights, not securities, though regulatory treatment may vary by jurisdiction. This is not a substitute for the official Terms and Conditions at https://terms.tessera.pe, which shall prevail in all respects in case of any discrepancy. These materials are not directed to persons in jurisdictions where such activity would be unlawful. Before using Tessera, you must read and accept the complete Terms and Conditions and consult your own legal, financial, and tax advisors.

How Tessera tokens work behind the scene

Investing in high-value private companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, or xAI has historically been reserved for billion-dollar funds and ultra-wealthy institutions. Tessera changes that by letting everyday investors gain exposure to these companies using a tokenized structure.

Here’s how Tessera tokens ("T-Tokens") work:

#1: Receive Tessera Tokens

To receive Tessera Tokens, you lend stablecoins (USDC/USDT) to Tessera Issuer Inc. These loans are structured so Tessera tokens are treated as non-securities, enabling broader global participation.

Here’s the key difference:

Your loan repayment equals whatever the underlying private shares sell for at a liquidity event (IPO, acquisition, etc.).

If the company exits higher, repayment is higher. If lower, repayment is lower. Returns are tied directly to the economic outcome of those shares.

Once your loan is made, you receive Tessera tokens (SPL tokens on Solana). These tokens represent:

• your loan position

• your right to receive repayment tied to liquidation proceeds

They function like a transferable receipt for your exposure to the underlying private assets.

⚠️ Important Eligibility Notice: Tessera is not available to persons or entities in certain excluded jurisdictions, including the United States of America, People’s Republic of China, and other restricted territories. See full Terms and Conditions at https://terms.tessera.pe for complete list.

#2: Behind the Scenes: Segregated Portfolios

Tessera Issuer Inc lends your stablecoins into segregated portfolios inside a Cayman Islands foundation.

Each portfolio corresponds to a single company:

• Portfolio 1 → SpaceX

• Portfolio 2 → OpenAI

• Portfolio 3 → xAI … and so on.

These portfolios are legally ring-fenced, so a shortfall in one doesn’t impact the others.

#3: Portfolios Acquire Real Exposure

Each portfolio uses the loaned stablecoins to acquire actual economic exposure to the private company shares, through:

• direct shares

• contracts for shares

• or similar instruments tracking company value

This is what turns your loan into a form of private-equity exposure.

#4: Independent Verification & Proof-of-Reserve

Transparency is a core design principle.

Here’s how verification works:

1. Portfolios produce audited financial statements showing what assets they hold.

2. The data is fed into Chainlink, a trusted blockchain oracle.

3. Chainlink publishes Proof-of-Reserve data on-chain.

Anyone can verify that tokens in circulation match the assets held in portfolios.

#5: Institutional-Grade Security

Operational security is handled by Fireblocks, a platform used by leading financial institutions for secure token minting, transfers, and burning. Fireblocks use multi-party computation (MPC), a military-grade cryptographic system.

#6: The Golden Rule: 1:1 Backing

Tessera can never issue more tokens than there are assets backing them.

Example: If a SpaceX portfolio has exposure to shares worth 1,000 units, only 1,000 tokens can exist.

This ensures:

• no dilution

• no fractional re-hypothecation

• no excess minting

The 1:1 ratio is continuously validated through the Proof-of-Reserve mechanism.

#7: What You Can Do With Tokens

Unlike traditional private equity, Tessera tokens are liquid from day one and compatible with DeFi.

You can:

• trade on DEXs (e.g., Meteora on Solana)

• lend/borrow via DeFi protocols

• provide liquidity to earn fees

• transfer freely to anyone

This bridges private market access with public market liquidity which is a major unlock for investors.

#8: Liquidity Events: How You Get Paid Back

Private companies eventually face a liquidity event:

• IPO

• acquisition

• secondary sale

• or equivalent corporate actions

When that happens:

1. Portfolio liquidates the underlying exposure

2. Proceeds flow back to Tessera Issuer Inc

3. Tessera opens a Redemption Period

4. You return your tokens

5. You receive your loan repayment equal to the liquidation proceeds

Important detail: If you miss the redemption window, the claim expires.

#9: Key Advantages for Participants

Access: Exposure to private companies normally requiring millions+

Liquidity: Trade anytime instead of waiting 5-10 years

Transparency: On-chain proof assets actually exist

DeFi Compatibility: Tokens can be used across Solana DeFi ecosystems

Global Reach: Loan structure enables non-securities classification, improving access

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Why the Structure Works

Tessera’s system functions due to five core design decisions:

1. Loan structure → repayment tied to liquidation proceeds

2. Segregated portfolios → legally isolated asset pools

3. On-chain verification → no hidden rehypothecation

4. Institutional security → Fireblocks MPC architecture

5. 1:1 backing → enforced via Chainlink Proof-of-Reserve

Together, these create a bridge between private equity and tokenized finance, without compromising institutional standards.

The Bigger Picture

Tessera is part of a broader shift where private markets are being tokenized, making them:

• more transparent

• more liquid

• more accessible

• more composable with DeFi

If the last decade unlocked crypto-native assets, the next decade is likely to unlock tokenized TradFi assets, starting with private equity.

Tessera is positioning itself at that frontier.

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Platform Features

On the platform, you'll interact with these tokens in a way that feels familiar to anyone who has used other Solana tokens.

Tessera platform offers 5 key features:

• Terminal with PE Company Data: Access in-depth analysis, charts, metrics, raise rounds, news volume data, and key information for all private equity companies available on Tessera.

• Personal Dashboard & Portfolio: Track your current holdings, portfolio value, price charts, as well as your full history of transactions.

• Acquire & Trade: Acquire Tessera tokens using stablecoins (USDC/USDT), or trade existing tokens on integrated Solana DEXs. A 0% fee applies on acquisitions, and a 0.2% fee (with max cap) applies on sells/transfers.

• Referral System: Create referral links, track your referral data, check your total referral earnings, and monitor the trading volume of all your referred users. Earn 30% (Level 1), 3% (Level 2), and 2% (Level 3) of fees from your referral network.

• Redemption (Post-Liquidity Event): After a company IPOs or is acquired, and after Tessera receives the proceeds, redeem your Tessera tokens for stablecoins during the designated Redemption Period. You receive your proportional share of whatever the underlying assets were sold for.