There's no single price for tokenizing an asset: the bill is the sum of seven line items (legal structure, smart contracts, platform, KYC/AML, registry or transfer agent, audit and operations), and the legal route you choose moves the total more than the technology does. A few items have public prices, such as identity checks at $0.80 to $1.89 per verification; most are quoted case by case.
Below, each line item for the United States and the European Union. Every third-party figure links to its source and was checked on October 31, 2026. Where we found no public figure, we say so. The orders of magnitude that come from Unknown Gravity's own work are labeled as estimates, and they aren't a price offer.
The cost of tokenizing an asset at a glance
| Line item | United States | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| Legal structure and offering documents | Form D: no SEC filing fee. Regulation Crowdfunding: legal $3,000 to $10,000 and accounting $2,000 to $10,000 (market estimate cited by SEC staff, 2019) | No prospectus for non-passported offers below €12 million, or for offers only to qualified investors; legal fees quoted per case |
| Smart contracts | Tens of thousands for a token with investor identity and transfer rules, audit aside (Unknown Gravity estimate) | Same estimate |
| Platform | Often bundled into the intermediary's fee: in Regulation Crowdfunding, cash compensation averaged 5.7% of proceeds (2016 to 2018 filings) | Mostly quoted on request; compare offers on the same number of assets, issuance volume and KYC checks included |
| KYC/AML | $0.80 to $1.89 per verification, plus $0.64 for AML screening on one provider; $1.35 to $1.85 on another | Same published price lists, in US dollars |
| Registry or transfer agent | Bank, escrow and transfer agent fees of $3,000 to $5,000 in Regulation Crowdfunding (market estimate, 2019) | Central securities depository, DLT market infrastructure or a national registry such as Spain's ERIR: quoted per case |
| Audit | Code: pools of $17,500 to $135,000 in seven public 2026 Code4rena contests. Financial statements: audited above $618,000 in Regulation Crowdfunding and always in Regulation A Tier 2 | Code: same market. Financial statements: under company law, depending on the issuer |
| Operations | Periodic reports, transfer agent, KYC for each new investor, network fees | Platform subscription, registry and custody fees, ongoing AML, network fees |
Line by line
1. Legal structure and offering documents
This line defines what is tokenized, under which legal form (for example, a special purpose vehicle that holds the asset) and which exemption the offering relies on. It's the line that conditions all the others.
United States. The SEC does not charge any filing fee for a Form D notice, which companies file within 15 days of the first sale in a Rule 504 or Rule 506 offering. For Regulation Crowdfunding, the SEC staff's 2019 study cited one market participant's estimate of $3,000 to $10,000 in legal costs and $2,000 to $10,000 in accounting costs. We found no recent public SEC figure for Regulation A, which adds an offering statement that the SEC must qualify and, in Tier 2, ongoing reporting, or for registered offerings.
European Union. The biggest lever is the prospectus. Since June 5, 2026, offers that aren't passported to other Member States are exempt below €12 million over 12 months, and Member States may apply a €5 million threshold instead. Offers addressed solely to qualified investors are exempt too. Crowdfunding under the EU regulation on crowdfunding service providers is capped at €5 million per project owner over 12 months. For a Spanish issuance, see what it costs to issue a security token in Spain, and for the prospectus changes, the Listing Act and tokenization.
2. Smart contracts
A token with transfer restrictions and investor identity costs tens of thousands to develop, audit aside, in Unknown Gravity's estimate; a standard token without those rules costs a few thousand. Starting from an open standard reduces bespoke work: ERC-3643 has Final status as an Ethereum standard, and its reference implementation is published under the GPL-3.0 license, which carries its own obligations. The drivers are in smart contract development cost and the standard is explained in our ERC-3643 guide. We build these contracts in our smart contract development service.
3. Platform
Investors need somewhere to sign up, pass KYC, subscribe and see their holdings. You can rent it or build it.
United States. In Regulation Crowdfunding, transactions must go through a platform run by an SEC-registered broker-dealer or funding portal, and that intermediary's fee covers much of the platform. The SEC staff found that average (median) cash compensation was 5.7% (6%) of offering proceeds, ranging from 0.1% to 10%, in filings from May 2016 to 2018.
European Union. Most providers quote on request, so ask each one to price the same scope: number of assets, issuance volume, KYC checks included and whether you need your own brand.
Building your own. A platform with several contracts, integrations and an external audit is a six-figure project, in our estimate. The choice between a white label tokenization platform and tokenization platform development depends on how many issuances you expect and how much of the product you need to own.
4. KYC/AML
Identity checks are the most transparent line, because some providers publish their price lists, in US dollars:
| Provider and plan | Price per verification | Monthly minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Veriff Essential | $0.80 | $49 |
| Veriff Plus | $1.39 | $99 |
| Veriff Premium | $1.89 | $209 |
| Sumsub Basic | $1.35 | $149 |
| Sumsub Compliance (includes AML and proof-of-address checks) | $1.85 | $299 |
Veriff adds $0.64 per verification for AML screening against PEP and sanctions lists, charged on top of the monthly minimum. A worked example: 500 investors on Veriff Plus with AML screening cost 500 × ($1.39 + $0.64) = $1,015. For small offerings the minimum matters more than the unit price: Sumsub's $299 monthly minimum adds up to $3,588 if you keep the plan for twelve months.
United States. Broker-dealers must keep a written customer identification program, and issuers in a Rule 506(c) offering must take reasonable steps to verify that every buyer is an accredited investor. European Union. Under the EU AML Regulation, which applies from July 10, 2027, the anti-money laundering duties fall on the obliged entities in your chain, such as investment firms, crowdfunding service providers and crypto-asset service providers. More detail in AML/KYC in a security token offering.
5. Registry or transfer agent
United States. A transfer agent keeps the official record of who owns the securities. A Regulation A Tier 2 issuer that wants the conditional exemption from Exchange Act registration must engage a transfer agent registered under Section 17A(c). For Regulation Crowdfunding, the SEC staff's 2019 study cited a market estimate of $3,000 to $5,000 for bank and transaction fees (escrow, payments and transfer agent), some charged yearly and some per investor.
European Union. Transferable securities traded on a trading venue must be recorded in book-entry form in a central securities depository. The DLT Pilot Regime lets authorized DLT market infrastructures do this within limits: shares of issuers with a market capitalization below €500 million, bonds with an issue size below €1 billion, and €6 billion in total per DLT market infrastructure. Outside trading venues, national law decides; in Spain, securities on a distributed ledger are recorded through an ERIR. We found no public price lists for these services.
6. Audit
The code. Private audit firms quote per scope. In seven public 2026 contests on Code4rena, total prize pools ranged from $17,500 to $135,000, and one review of fixes paid $6,000. These pools don't include the project's own engineering time, so read them as reference points. See our smart contract audit service.
The financial statements. In US Regulation Crowdfunding, target amounts above $124,000 and up to $618,000 need statements reviewed by an independent public accountant, and above $618,000 they must be audited (first-time issuers may use reviewed statements up to $1,235,000). Regulation A Tier 2 requires audited financial statements. In the EU, whether a statutory audit applies depends on company law and on the issuer.
7. Operations
Tokenization isn't a launch cost only. In the US, a Regulation Crowdfunding issuer files an annual report no later than 120 days after its fiscal year ends, and a Regulation A Tier 2 issuer files an annual report on Form 1-K and a semiannual report on Form 1-SA. In the EU, expect yearly platform, registry and custody fees and ongoing AML checks. On both sides, every new investor means another identity check, and every transaction pays a network fee that depends on the chain.
The route decides the bill
The exemption or regime you use sets which of the lines above appear and how big they get. The figures are the legal caps.
| Route | Limit | What it adds to the cost |
|---|---|---|
| US Rule 506(c) | Accredited investors only | Form D with no SEC fee; reasonable steps to verify each investor |
| US Rule 504 | $10 million in 12 months | Form D with no SEC fee |
| US Regulation Crowdfunding | $5 million in 12 months | Registered intermediary and its fee; reviewed or audited financial statements by size; annual report |
| US Regulation A Tier 1 / Tier 2 | $20 million / $75 million in 12 months | Offering statement; in Tier 2, audited statements, ongoing reports and, for the conditional exemption, a registered transfer agent |
| EU offer without a prospectus | Below €12 million in 12 months (or €5 million where a Member State opts for it), not passported | National disclosure rules may apply |
| EU offer to qualified investors only | No amount limit in the exemption | Distribution limited to professional investors |
| EU crowdfunding service provider | €5 million per project owner in 12 months | Authorized platform and its fees |
| EU DLT Pilot Regime | Shares below €500 million market cap; bonds below €1 billion | Authorized DLT market infrastructure for trading and settlement |
Status as of October 31, 2026. The DLT Pilot Regime limits above are those in force. On December 4, 2025, the Commission proposed withdrawing the caps on individual instruments and raising the aggregate cap per DLT market infrastructure from €6 billion to €100 billion (COM(2025) 943); the proposal had not been adopted on this date. The prospectus thresholds have applied since June 5, 2026, and the EU AML Regulation applies from July 10, 2027.
Choosing the route is a legal decision for your lawyers. For offerings that span both markets, see cross-border security token offerings between the EU and the US and our guide to asset tokenization in the United States.
How to get a number for your case
Unknown Gravity doesn't publish a price list for tokenization: we scope first, then quote. We build the technology (smart contracts, platform and integrations) and work with your lawyers and with the authorized entities your structure needs, such as a transfer agent, a broker-dealer, an investment firm or, in Spain, an ERIR.
If your issuance is in Spain, our STO estimator takes four questions and returns the applicable framework, the requirements, the phases with indicative timelines and the cost components to budget for. It doesn't give a price either: the amount comes from a tailored quote. For the rest of the work, see our asset tokenization service or book a meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to tokenize real estate?
The same seven line items apply, plus the vehicle that holds the property. There's no single figure: the route (in the US, which SEC exemption; in the EU, whether a prospectus is required) moves the total more than the token does. Our guide to real estate tokenization in the United States covers the structures.
Which US route usually costs less up front?
It depends on your investors. A Rule 506(c) offering files a Form D with no SEC fee but can only sell to verified accredited investors. Regulation Crowdfunding is capped at $5 million and adds the intermediary's fee and reviewed or audited statements depending on size. Regulation A Tier 2 reaches $75 million but requires audited statements and ongoing reports. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I need a prospectus to tokenize an asset in the EU?
Not if the offer is addressed solely to qualified investors, or if it isn't passported and stays below €12 million over 12 months (or €5 million where a Member State has chosen that threshold). Above those limits, unless another exemption in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation applies, or for admission to a regulated market, plan for a prospectus.
Which costs recur every year?
Platform subscription or maintenance, registry or transfer agent fees, custody where it applies, identity checks for new investors, periodic reports and network fees. Structuring, documentation and smart contract development are mostly launch costs.
Does Unknown Gravity publish prices?
No. The orders of magnitude in this guide that carry our name are estimates to help you plan, not offers. A real figure comes after scoping your asset, your investors and your route.
Sources
- SEC: Filing a Form D notice
- SEC staff: Regulation Crowdfunding study, report to the Commission (2019)
- 17 CFR 227.100 (Regulation Crowdfunding)
- 17 CFR 227.201(t) (financial statements)
- 17 CFR 227.202 (annual report)
- 17 CFR 230.251 (Regulation A tiers)
- 17 CFR 230.257 (Regulation A Tier 2 reporting)
- 17 CFR 230.504 (Rule 504)
- 17 CFR 230.506 (Rule 506)
- 17 CFR 240.12g5-1 (Regulation A conditional exemption)
- SEC: Regulation A
- 31 CFR 1023.220 (customer identification programs for broker-dealers)
- Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (Prospectus Regulation), Article 1(4)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/2809 (Listing Act), Articles 1(3) and 4(3)
- Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 (crowdfunding service providers), Article 1(2)
- Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 (CSDR), Article 3
- Spain: Law 6/2023 on Securities Markets and Investment Services, Article 8(4)
- Regulation (EU) 2022/858 (DLT Pilot Regime), Article 3
- European Commission: proposal on capital market integration, COM(2025) 943 (December 4, 2025)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AML Regulation), Articles 3 and 90
- ERC-3643: T-REX, Token for Regulated EXchanges and its reference implementation
- Veriff: plans and pricing
- Sumsub: pricing
- Code4rena: K2 audit (2026), Intuition audit (2026) and Panoptic mitigation review (2026)
This article is for information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Prices are those published by each provider on October 31, 2026 and may change. Check the rules in force on EUR-Lex and the eCFR, and ask a qualified lawyer about your case.