ERC-884
In short: ERC-884 is a proposed Ethereum standard that allows stock issued by Delaware corporations to be converted into tradable tokens compatible with ERC-20.
ERC-884 is a proposed Ethereum standard that allows stock issued by Delaware corporations to be converted into tradable tokens compatible with ERC-20. The tokens represent real shares, and the contract keeps the kind of shareholder records that corporate law requires.
Why it matters
Delaware corporate law allows companies to keep their stock ledger on a blockchain. A share token cannot behave like an ordinary crypto token, though, because a company must always know who its shareholders are. ERC-884 therefore adds rules on top of ERC-20. Only verified addresses, whose owners have passed identity checks, can hold the tokens. The contract stores a hash of each holder's identity data rather than the data itself, so personal details are not published on-chain. The company can list all current holders, and if a shareholder loses access to their address, it can cancel the old tokens and reissue them to a new verified address. Because the tokens are shares, they remain securities and are subject to securities rules.
Example
A startup incorporated in Delaware issues its shares as ERC-884 tokens. A new investor completes identity checks, the company adds the investor's address to the verified list, and the tokens are sent to it. Later the investor loses their private key. After confirming the investor's identity again, the company cancels the lost tokens and reissues the same shares to a new address.