FAQ – Stove Protocol

A collection of common questions and answers about the Stove Protocol ecosystem.

🔹 General Overview

Q1: What is Stove Protocol? A: Stove Protocol is a public, non-profit protocol that brings real-world equities on-chain at a 1:1 ratio through a secure and transparent mechanism. It serves as public infrastructure for tokenized equities, enabling minting, redemption, and ecosystem integration without centralized intermediaries.

Q2: Who operates Stove Protocol? A: Stove Protocol is maintained by a non-profit foundation supported by its initiators — HabitTrade (a licensed Australian brokerage) and Tritium Labs (a Web3 infrastructure and R&D lab). Together, they ensure regulatory compliance, technical security, and open access.

Q3: Is Stove Protocol a company or a DeFi project? A: Stove is not a company; it is a public-goods protocol. The foundation ensures its neutrality and sustainability, while all contracts are open-source and community-verifiable.

Q4: Is Stove Protocol free to use? A: Yes. Minting and redeeming are free of charge, apart from standard network gas fees. Stove’s mission is to make tokenized stock access open and barrier-free for all.

🔹 Tokenized Stocks & Mint/Redeem

Q5: What is a StockToken? A: A StockToken (e.g., sAAPL, sTSLA) is an ERC-20 token with 0 decimals, representing one whole share of a listed stock. Each token is fully backed 1:1 by real shares held by a licensed custodian.

Q6: How does minting work? A: Users create a Request-for-Quote (RFQ) order signed with EIP-712. Authorized takers then execute the order on-chain — minting StockTokens directly to the user’s address once verified.

Q7: How does redemption work? A: When users redeem, the taker executes an opposite RFQ order. The corresponding StockTokens are burned, and the underlying shares are sold off-chain. Users receive the settlement proceeds in stablecoins.

Q8: Are these tokens synthetic or backed? A: All Stove StockTokens are fully backed by real shares — not synthetics, not mirrored derivatives. The protocol uses a verifiable custody model with audit transparency.

🔹 Architecture & Security

Q9: What makes Stove Protocol secure? A:

• Audited smart contracts

• EIP-712 signatures for tamper-proof off-chain orders

• Timelock protection for governance actions

• Multisig wallets for critical operations

• Vault isolation for secure fund custody

• Public-source code transparency

Q10: Can contracts be upgraded? A: Yes — Stove uses the UUPS upgrade pattern, allowing contract improvements while preserving all user balances and historical data. Every upgrade passes through timelock delays for public review.

Q11: What happens if a stock is delisted or merged? A: Stove’s Corporate Actions System automatically processes these events:

• Delisting → Tokens are retired and compensation distributed via Vault.

• Stock Split/Reverse Split → Balances are adjusted automatically.

• Dividend → Distributed proportionally to token holders.

Q12: Are user assets ever at risk? A: Assets are isolated per token and protected by custody and vault layers. However, as with all DeFi systems, risks such as smart contract vulnerabilities and market volatility may exist.

🔹 Ecosystem & Governance

Q13: How can developers build on Stove Protocol? A: Developers can integrate via the open RFQ Settlement API and smart contract interfaces. All documentation and SDKs are available in the Developer Docs.

Q14: Can other platforms use Stove’s infrastructure? A: Yes. Any DeFi, CeFi, or RWA platform can integrate Stove’s aggregation or stock token standard to provide tokenized equity access or use Stove’s verified tickers for price feeds.

Q15: How can institutions collaborate? A: Institutions (custodians, brokers, exchanges, DeFi protocols) can partner through the Issuer Integration Program, which allows direct stock issuance and aggregation through Stove’s network.

🔹 Legal, Compliance & Miscellaneous

Q16: Is Stove Protocol compliant with financial regulations? A: Stove partners with licensed custodians and brokers (like HabitTrade) to ensure all off-chain equity holdings comply with local securities laws. Users are still responsible for complying with their own jurisdictions’ regulations.

Q17: Is there a native token? A: Stove Protocol currently has no native token. All interactions are performed with existing stablecoins or through partner integrations. Any future governance token will be publicly announced by the foundation.

Q18: Can I verify the backing of StockTokens? A: Yes. Custodian proofs and corporate action reports will be made publicly auditable through on-chain references and official statements published by the Stove Foundation.

Q19: How can I contact the team or report issues? A: 📧 Email: [email protected] 🐦 Twitter/X: @StoveProtocol 💬 Telegram: https://t.me/stoveprotocol