> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.useicaria.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.useicaria.xyz/introduction/readme.md). # What is Icaria The swap layer for tokenized real-world assets on Robinhood Chain, where the price, the fill and the fee are all written to the chain for anyone to check. Icaria is the venue where tokenized real-world assets change hands on Robinhood Chain, and no part of the design requires you to hand over your assets. Stock Tokens (tokenized AAPL, NVDA, SPY and the rest of the catalogue), with tokenized treasuries and gold to follow, trade against USDG at prices drawn from the very Chainlink feeds the wider market uses. Everything that happens (the price offered, the trade executed, the charge applied) lands on Robinhood Chain where any observer can read it back. ## The whole idea, in a paragraph Ask a generic AMM what something is worth and it answers from its own reserves. That answer is correct for an asset whose price is born on-chain and wrong for an asset whose price is set on an exchange somewhere else. Icaria inverts the arrangement. Behind each market stands an [anchor vault](/protocol/anchor-vaults.md) that takes the Chainlink mid as its starting point and adds a spread determined by three things: which session the underlying is in, how the vault's inventory currently sits, and which tier the asset belongs to. Close the underlying market and the spread grows, the maximum size shrinks, and the ticket announces both facts. Once a trade outgrows the vault's clip, [RFQ](/protocol/rfq.md) takes over: professional makers sign quotes away from the chain and the settlement lands on it in one piece. The [router](/protocol/routing.md) compares both paths and takes the cheaper one, presenting the trader with a single figure whose mid, spread and fee are each broken out. ## Where it parts company with an AMM | Property | Generic AMM pool | Icaria | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Price discovery | Whatever the reserve ratio implies | Anchored to the Chainlink mid, with guards drawing the outer limits | | Closed markets | Quotes Saturday exactly as it quotes Tuesday | Wider spreads, smaller clips, and a ticket that announces both | | Corporate actions | Breaks, or has to be rebuilt elsewhere | The ERC-8056 multiplier carries the event into the price; the market halts while it passes | | LP economics | Gives up value to arbitrage on every price move | Collects spread from quotes that sit around the oracle | | Large trades | Walks the curve and pays for it | Attested makers bid against each other through RFQ | | Compliance | Absent | Enforced where the protocol begins | | Fees | Folded invisibly into the curve | Broken out on the quote and published to the chain | Constant-product maths is the right tool for pairs that live entirely on-chain. Point it at something with an external reference price, a trading calendar and a corporate-action history, and it hands value to arbitrageurs and lets the quote wander during quiet weekends. What those assets need is market structure designed around them, which is the hole Icaria was built to fill. ## Key facts | | | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Chain | Robinhood Chain (Arbitrum Nitro L2, chain ID 4663) | | Quote asset | USDG (Paxos Global Dollar) | | Launch assets | Robinhood Stock Tokens | | Next assets | The Stock Token long tail, then tokenized treasuries and gold (the [Asset roadmap](/assets/asset-roadmap.md) has the sequence) | | Execution | Vaults anchored to the oracle for everyday size, RFQ for blocks, one router over both | | Pricing | Chainlink Data Feeds and Data Streams, session-aware, wrapped in guards | | Custody | Nobody holds your assets. Assets move during settlement alone, and vault inventory rests in immutable contracts | | Fees | A single protocol fee, itemised, with no silent cut of the spread | ## What Icaria does not do * Hold customer assets, or turn money into tokens and back. * Create, mint or redeem RWAs. What sits underneath belongs to regulated issuers; Icaria is the secondary market above them. * Lend, lever or offer perpetuals. ## Which page to read next * New to the venue: start at [Why now](/introduction/why-now.md), then [Design principles](/introduction/design-principles.md). * After the mechanics: work through the [Protocol overview](/protocol/overview.md), then [Anchor vaults](/protocol/anchor-vaults.md), [Pricing and spreads](/protocol/pricing-and-spreads.md) and [Trading regimes](/protocol/trading-regimes.md). * Building against Icaria: [System overview](/architecture/overview.md), [Smart contracts](/architecture/smart-contracts.md) and [API and SDK](/architecture/api.md) are the pages you want. * Weighing the downside: the [Risk framework](/risk/framework.md) and [Lessons from RWA trading](/risk/lessons.md) hold it. * Trading or supplying liquidity: [For traders](/using-icaria/traders.md) and [For liquidity providers](/using-icaria/liquidity-providers.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.useicaria.xyz/introduction/readme.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.