SettleMint
ArchitectureFlows

Treasury Distribution

How DALP's treasury payment architecture enables digital assets to act as their own payment source for automated lifecycle distributions to investors.

Overview

DALP's treasury payment capability integrates settlement currency management directly into the digital asset. Rather than relying on external treasury contracts or manual payment processes, the asset holds settlement currency and distributes it to investors automatically when lifecycle events trigger a payment.

This design makes treasury operations a first-class component of the digital asset lifecycle --- not a separate system bolted on after issuance.

Architectural model

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The key design elements are:

  1. Asset-integrated treasury --- The asset contract holds settlement currency directly. There is no external treasury contract to deploy or manage.
  2. Feature-gated payment authorization --- Only registered lifecycle features can request payment from the treasury. Unauthorized payment requests are rejected.
  3. Per-investor distribution --- The distribution engine calculates each investor's share based on their current holding and dispatches currency to their custody account.
  4. On-chain record --- Every distribution event is recorded immutably, providing a complete audit trail.

Payment authorization

The treasury does not accept payment requests from arbitrary sources. Authorization works through a registered feature list:

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This authorization model ensures that only approved lifecycle operations can trigger distributions, protecting treasury funds from unauthorized depletion.

Lifecycle features as payment triggers

Payment features are registered on the asset at configuration time. Each feature type encodes the business logic for when and how payments are calculated:

Feature typeTriggerAmount calculation
Yield distributionScheduled interval (daily, monthly, quarterly)Rate x investor holding x elapsed period
Maturity redemptionAsset maturity datePrincipal amount per unit x investor holding
Coupon paymentScheduled coupon dateFixed coupon rate x face value x investor holding

Features are not activated globally --- each must be explicitly registered on the specific asset where it will operate. This prevents features from being applied to assets they were not designed for.

Settlement currency model

The asset treasury holds settlement currency --- a specific payment currency designated at asset configuration time. This is distinct from the digital security itself:

  • Digital security --- The tokenized instrument (bond, equity, fund unit) that investors hold
  • Settlement currency --- The payment medium (typically a regulated stablecoin or fiat-linked currency) used for distributions

The treasury balance must be funded by the issuer before distribution events occur. If the treasury balance is insufficient at payment time, the distribution does not execute --- partial payments are not made. This protects investors from receiving only a fraction of their entitled distribution.

Auto-detection of treasury capability

DALP automatically detects whether an asset has treasury payment capability or relies on an external custody account for payments. This detection happens at the time of payment initiation, allowing assets to be deployed without treasury capability and upgraded later if needed.

On-chain auditability

Every payment event is recorded on-chain, capturing:

  • Timestamp of distribution
  • Total amount distributed
  • Number of recipients
  • Per-recipient amounts
  • The lifecycle feature that triggered the payment

This record is immutable and cannot be altered after the fact. It serves as the authoritative source for investor reporting, regulatory submissions, and audit inquiries.

Integration with DALP lifecycle

Treasury payment capability is one component of DALP's broader asset lifecycle:

  • Before distributions: Asset issuance, investor onboarding, compliance verification (handled by issuance and compliance modules)
  • At distribution: Eligibility checked against current compliance rules; treasury distributes to eligible holders
  • After maturity: Final redemption distribution triggered; asset moves to retired status

The compliance layer that governs transfers also governs distribution eligibility --- the same investor identity and rule framework applies throughout the lifecycle.

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