Capital Formation Architecture — April 2026
Five-layer capital stack.
From bank instrument to on-chain protocol.
The DIGAU capital formation programme does not depend on a single channel. It combines a SWIFT MT-760 bank instrument (SBLC) as the reserve and bridge mechanism, two institutional banking channels (CIBC Bank USA + Commonwealth Bank of Australia) for subscription intake, and three on-chain protocols (Centrifuge, Maple Finance, Ondo Finance) for pre-offering liquidity, working capital, and treasury yield. Every layer is justified by its specific function. Every layer connects to the next.
SBLC (CIBC MT-760)
CIBC Bank USA
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Centrifuge
Maple Finance
Ondo Finance
Goldfinch
Securitize ATS
The five layers
LAYER 01
SBLC Reserve Instrument
Bank Instrument — SWIFT MT-760
Partner: CIBC Trade Finance
Standby Letter of Credit issued bank-to-bank via Brussels SWIFT system. ICC UCP 600 / ICC Publication No. 758 compliant. Irrevocable, unconditional, English law governed.
Capacity: SBLC face value negotiated with CIBC Trade Finance desk based on offering size and reserve requirement.
›Reserve enhancement: SBLC backs the reserve position before physical gold vaulting is complete.
›Gold procurement: issued to physical gold supplier (APMEX, Brink's-custodied dealer) as payment mechanism — gold delivered against SBLC, no cash wired until custody confirmed.
›Subscription settlement guarantee: SBLC from institutional investor's bank held in escrow — guarantees large-tranche settlement.
›On-chain anchoring: SHA-256 hash of the SBLC instrument anchored via ReserveProofAnchor.sol on Base mainnet — publicly verifiable, immutable.
Timing: Weeks 3–4 of offering preparation; before investor subscriptions open.
LAYER 02
Traditional Banking Channels
Institutional Banking — Subscription Escrow
Partner: CIBC Bank USA + Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Subscription escrow accounts at two major institutional banks. AML/KYC compliance managed by bank. Wire processing via SWIFT and ACH. FX via bank treasury desks.
Capacity: CIBC Bank USA: offering-defined (USD, US/Canadian investors). CBA: up to $9.8M structured in four tranches (AUD/USD, Australian sophisticated investors).
›Primary investor subscription intake: US Reg D 506(c) via CIBC Bank USA escrow (ABA 071006486, SWIFT PVTBUS44).
›Australian investor channel: CBA CommBiz via SWIFT CTBAAU2S — Corporations Act 2001 s708 sophisticated investor exemption.
›AML/CTF compliance: both banks auto-file AUSTRAC IFTI (CBA) and FinCEN CTR (CIBC) — no issuer action required.
›FX: CIBC FX desk for USD/CAD conversion; CBA FX portal for AUD→USD conversion at preferential rates above AUD 1M.
Timing: Weeks 1–2 for account opening; active through full offering period.
LAYER 03
On-Chain RWA Credit Protocol
DeFi Protocol — RWA Pool
Partner: Centrifuge
Centrifuge enables real-world assets to be tokenised as collateral in structured lending pools. Issuers create a pool, tokenise their RWA (in this case the SBLC-backed gold position), and borrow stablecoins (DAI, USDC) from liquidity providers at fixed rates.
Capacity: Demonstrated pool sizes: $5M–$220M+ per pool. Borrowing at 70–80% of collateral face value is standard.
›Pre-offering bridge: borrow DAI/USDC against the SBLC before traditional offering closes — funds platform build, legal, compliance.
›Senior/junior pool structure: liquidity providers hold DROP tokens (senior, protected); issuer retains TIN tokens (junior, first-loss) — risk correctly allocated.
›MakerDAO integration: Centrifuge pools can access MakerDAO Real World Finance vault for expanded DAI liquidity at low rates.
›On-chain transparency: all pool activity is publicly on-chain — strengthens reserve proof narrative and builds institutional credibility.
›Repayment: bridge repaid from first offering close proceeds; Centrifuge pool winds down cleanly with full on-chain audit trail.
Timing: Pre-offering or parallel to offering; bridge repaid at first close.
LAYER 04
Institutional Lending Protocol
DeFi Protocol — Direct Lending
Partner: Maple Finance
Maple Direct enables institutional borrowers to access secured lending pools with fixed-term, fixed-rate facilities. Borrowers are KYC-verified, credit-assessed by Pool Delegates. Collateral: SBLC + offering documentation.
Capacity: Typical Maple Direct facilities: $5M–$100M. Maple Cash product: unlimited USDC deployment at 4–6% APY.
›Platform working capital: technology infrastructure, legal counsel, compliance systems, custodian onboarding fees.
›Maple Direct secured facility: collateralised by SBLC + offering documentation; 6–18 month term; repaid from offering proceeds.
›Maple Cash: deploy idle treasury USDC into Maple Cash for 4–6% APY on US Treasury-backed yield.
›Institutional standing: Maple borrower status signals creditworthiness to traditional institutional counterparties — CIBC, CBA relationship managers.
Timing: Ongoing; independent of offering cycle; operational runway financing.
LAYER 05
Treasury Yield & Capital Efficiency
Tokenized Securities — Treasury Management
Partner: Ondo Finance
Ondo issues tokenized exposure to institutional fixed-income instruments. OUSG tracks the BlackRock iShares Short-Term Treasury ETF (4.5–5.5% APY). USDY is a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by US Treasuries and bank deposits.
Capacity: No cap on deployment. OUSG and USDY are fully liquid. $500M+ TVL on Ondo as of 2025.
›Inter-tranche float: subscription proceeds held in OUSG between CBA tranches — earn 4.5–5.5% instead of zero.
›Reserve treasury: maintain 10–20% of reserve pool in tokenized Treasuries for capital efficiency — complements gold backing.
›Investor distributions: supplement profit-participation distributions with OUSG yield during low-gold-revenue periods.
›OUSG is ERC-20 on Ethereum and Polygon — integrates directly with the platform's existing smart contract infrastructure.
›Regulatory comfort: Ondo restricts OUSG to verified accredited investors — compliant with Reg D framework.
Timing: Continuous; between offering tranches and as ongoing treasury practice.
Protocol Intelligence
On-chain protocol deep dives
Each protocol is evaluated for direct relevance to the DIGAU capital formation programme. Relevance ratings reflect how specifically the protocol addresses an identified capital gap or operational requirement.
Execution Timeline
Capital formation waterfall
SBLC — The Keystone Layer
How the SBLC connects every other layer
The CIBC SWIFT MT-760 SBLC is not just a reserve instrument — it is the collateral anchor that makes the on-chain protocol stack possible. Without the SBLC, there is no Centrifuge collateral to tokenise. Without Centrifuge, there is no pre-offering bridge liquidity. Without bridge liquidity, the platform build depends entirely on equity. The SBLC breaks that dependency.
SBLC → Centrifuge
SBLC tokenised as Centrifuge RWA NFT. Borrow 70–80% of face value in DAI/USDC for pre-offering costs. Bridge repaid at first close.
SBLC → CIBC Banking
SBLC issued by CIBC Trade Finance desk establishes relationship. CIBC Bank USA escrow account naturally follows. One institution covers both layers.
SBLC → Reserve Proof
SBLC hash anchored on-chain via ReserveProofAnchor.sol. CBA, CIBC, and Centrifuge LPs all verify the same on-chain proof.
SBLC → Maple Collateral
Maple Direct facility can be collateralised by SBLC documentation + offering materials — providing an additional working capital line if needed.
SBLC → Investor Confidence
MT-760 from a rated prime bank (CIBC) signals to CIBC Capital Markets, CBA relationship managers, and Centrifuge Pool Delegates that the reserve position is real.
SBLC → Token Migration
SBLC hash anchored on-chain becomes a permanent record on Base mainnet — carried through the ERC-3643 migration as part of the on-chain reserve history.
Risk, compliance & legal posture
On-chain protocol legal structure
Centrifuge, Maple, Ondo, and Goldfinch pool interactions are documented as structured financial transactions. Legal counsel reviews each facility agreement for securities law compliance before execution.
DeFi protocol risk
Smart contract risk is mitigated by using only audited protocols with multi-year production track records. Centrifuge (Trail of Bits + SRLabs), Maple (Trail of Bits + Spearbit), Ondo (Quantstamp + C4).
Regulatory treatment of on-chain borrowing
Drawing against Centrifuge or Maple is treated as a structured debt facility — not a securities issuance. No Form D amendment required. Reported as a liability on the issuer balance sheet.
SBLC monetisation compliance
SBLC discounting / leasing is conducted through CIBC Trade Finance or an approved prime trade finance desk only. No third-party BG/SBLC monetisation brokers — avoids fraud-adjacent arrangements.
AML/CTF across all channels
CIBC Bank USA (BSA/FinCEN), CBA (AUSTRAC), Centrifuge pool KYC, Ondo accreditation gate, and Goldfinch UID — each layer has its own AML programme. No gaps between channels.
Investor disclosure
All capital stack layers disclosed in the offering memorandum: SBLC terms, on-chain protocol usage, bridge financing arrangement, and repayment terms. No undisclosed encumbrances.