What is NAV Premium & Discount?
NAV premium (or discount) is the gap between a tokenized asset's on-chain market price and its net asset value (NAV) — the value of the underlying share or fund. The formula is premium % = (token price − NAV) ÷ NAV × 100. A token trading above NAV is at a premium; below NAV, a discount.
Also called: premium to NAV · discount to NAV · tokenized stock NAV premium · net asset value premium
Formula
premium % = ((token price − NAV) ÷ NAV) × 100
premium (bps) = ((token price − NAV) ÷ NAV) × 10,000
Positive = premium (token above NAV) · negative = discount
How NAV premium is calculated
NAV premium is the percentage difference between what a tokenized asset trades at and the value of what backs it: premium % = ((token market price − NAV) ÷ NAV) × 100. For example, a token trading at $102 against a $100 NAV sits at a +2% premium; trading at $98 it sits at a −2% discount.
Premiums and discounts arise because the token trades 24/7 while the underlying share's NAV updates on a market schedule, and because liquidity, mint-and-redeem friction, and oracle latency all introduce small gaps between the token price and NAV.
Why NAV premium matters
A small, fluctuating premium or discount is normal. A large or persistent divergence is the signal worth watching — it can indicate thin liquidity, an arbitrage gap, paused redemptions, or stress in the backing, and at the extreme it becomes a de-peg. Tracking NAV premium per asset, against multiple oracles, separates routine noise from genuine risk. TxOnChain's NAV-premium view tracks this live across the tokenized-equity universe.
Frequently asked questions
What causes a tokenized stock to trade above NAV?
Demand outpacing available supply, the underlying stock market being closed while the token keeps trading, or friction in minting new tokens can all push a token to a premium above its NAV.
Is a NAV premium bad?
Not inherently — it simply reflects supply and demand at that moment. A large, persistent premium or discount is the meaningful signal, because it points to a liquidity, redemption, or backing issue.
Where this shows up live
On the desk
How NAV and premium are derived
Every figure on those pages carries its source and as-of time. Nothing is shown when the upstream is unavailable.
Read the desk note
The longer version, written from the desk: Is the token the same as the stock?.
Related terms
- Net Asset Value (NAV) — Net asset value (NAV) is the reference value of what a token represents — for a tokenized equity, the underlying share price multiplied by the shares multiplier; for a tokenized fund, assets minus liabilities divided by units outstanding.
- Shares Multiplier — The shares multiplier is how many underlying shares one token represents.
- De-Peg & Tracking Error — A de-peg (or tracking error) is when a tokenized asset's price drifts away from the value of the share or fund it represents.
- Multi-Oracle Pricing — Multi-oracle pricing values a tokenized asset by comparing several independent price feeds — such as Pyth, Chainlink, the issuer's published NAV, and the on-chain market price — instead of trusting one source.
More in Pricing
De-Peg & Tracking Error · Mint & Redeem · Multi-Oracle Pricing · Net Asset Value (NAV) · Oracle Divergence · Redemption Gate
Informational only · not financial advice. See the live numbers on the data desk, the sourcing rules in the methodology, or the day's stories in the newsroom. · ← All glossary terms