The IP Market is Locked Away from Everyday Investors#

The global intellectual property market is valued at $61 trillion, larger than the entire U.S. Treasury bond market at $28 trillion. Yet for decades, access to music royalties, film rights, and other IP assets has been restricted to private equity firms, institutional investors, and industry insiders with deep legal and financial resources. Ordinary investors have been completely shut out from one of the world’s most valuable asset classes, missing opportunities to earn from songs performed by Justin Bieber, BLACKPINK, and other global superstars.

Aria Protocol Unlocks Access to IP-Backed Revenue Streams#

Aria Protocol is revolutionizing IP investment by bringing real-world intellectual property rights onchain as fungible, liquid tokens. Built on Story, the purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for IP, Aria enables anyone to access and earn from iconic music, art, and entertainment assets that were previously inaccessible. The platform has already tokenized partial rights to 48 songs performed by artists like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, BLACKPINK, and BTS, raising $10.95 million through its first IP RWA token launch.

What is Aria Protocol?#

What does Aria Protocol do?#

Governance Token for IP Finance: ARIAIP serves as the native governance and utility token powering the Aria Protocol ecosystem. Token holders gain the ability to participate in protocol governance, shaping decisions about protocol upgrades, new asset classes to be supported, treasury spending, incentive structures, and licensing frameworks for remixable or programmable IP. This governance mechanism ensures that the community guides how Aria Protocol grows and evolves over time.

Liquidity Provider for IP RWA Markets: ARIAIP tokens are paired with IP RWA (Intellectual Property Real-World Asset) tokens in liquidity pools, enabling permissionless trading and transparent price discovery for IP-backed assets. This creates active, liquid markets for assets that were previously illiquid and trapped in legal contracts or corporate entities. By providing liquidity infrastructure, ARIAIP facilitates seamless trading of tokenized music rights, film IP, and other cultural assets across decentralized exchanges.

Token-Gated Community Benefits: Stakers of ARIAIP unlock exclusive access to potential creator collaborations, early access to new protocol features, and ecosystem opportunities. The first community benefit includes a 15% discount code for ARIAIP stakers to use on Muse Frame, a digital art framing platform. These token-gated benefits reward active participation in the Aria economy and create additional value for long-term holders.

Revenue Generation from Real-World IP: The Aria ecosystem generates revenue from multiple streams including origination fees on new IP tokenization launches, transaction and platform fees on secondary trading and staking, and management fees on curated IP vaults and structured products. While the project currently prioritizes ecosystem growth over immediate monetization by waiving origination fees in early launches, this demonstrates the long-term value creation potential of the protocol.

Programmable IP and Remix Economy: Looking ahead, Aria will enable programmable IP rights through smart contracts that define how IP can be used, licensed, remixed, or monetized. This creates a permissioned remix economy where creators retain control of their work while unlocking new income streams, collaborators gain legal licensed access to remix and build on IP, and investors can earn additional revenue as derivative assets are created and monetized. Royalties will be automatically distributed among original IP holders, investors, and collaborators creating derivative works.

Who are behind Aria Protocol?#

David Kostiner - Co-Founder & Chief IP Officer

David Kostiner brings two decades of specialized expertise in music and entertainment law to Aria Protocol’s leadership. His professional background includes:

• Managing Partner of Counsel LLP, a boutique creative law firm in San Francisco focusing on entertainment, intellectual property, and commercial law
• 20 years of experience specializing in IP law, with deep knowledge of music royalties and IP ownership structures
• Previous role as Co-Founder at BMBX Entertainment
• Graduate of University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings)
• Extensive network and resources in the IP field, providing crucial industry connections for acquiring rights to songs performed by major artists

David’s vision for Aria stems from his firsthand experience witnessing how music royalties and IP ownership have been “notoriously illiquid, difficult to access, and restricted to private equity investors and insiders with the legal and financial firepower to access and navigate exclusive relationships.” His legal expertise ensures that Aria Protocol bridges legal enforceability with smart contract automation, bringing real-world IP assets onchain with integrity.

Aria Protocol Labs Inc. Development Team

Aria Protocol Labs Inc. serves as the core development company contracted by the Aria Foundation to build applications and tools for the protocol. The team currently employs 10 people and plans to remain lean while scaling the ecosystem. The company focuses on developing early user experiences, onboarding creators and partners, and accelerating adoption of IP rights-backed assets. Founded by music industry veterans, the team combines deep entertainment industry knowledge with blockchain technical expertise.

Aria Foundation Stewardship

The Aria Foundation, a Cayman Islands-based nonprofit entity, provides long-term stewardship of the Aria Protocol ecosystem. The Foundation manages ecosystem resources, oversees community programs, represents the Protocol publicly, and coordinates governance initiatives. It also supports partnerships, funds developer initiatives, and ensures that IP monetization remains transparent and accessible to the broader community.

Why This Team Inspires Confidence#

Industry-Leading Legal Expertise: David Kostiner’s 20 years of specialization in entertainment and IP law positions Aria Protocol uniquely to navigate the complex legal landscape of music rights, licensing agreements, and intellectual property ownership. His role as Managing Partner of Counsel LLP demonstrates leadership in boutique legal services, while his deep understanding of both legal frameworks and blockchain technology enables Aria to bring IP rights onchain with full legal integrity and enforceability.

Proven Fundraising Success: Aria Protocol’s successful $15 million combined seed and strategic funding round at a $50 million equity valuation demonstrates strong institutional confidence. The involvement of top-tier venture capital firms including Polychain Capital and Neoclassic Capital, along with strategic investment from Story Protocol Foundation, validates the team’s vision and execution capability. This level of institutional backing in the competitive crypto fundraising environment speaks to the team’s credibility and the project’s potential.

Real-World IP Asset Acquisition: The team has already demonstrated execution by successfully acquiring partial rights to 48 iconic songs from the $10.95 million raised via StakeStone’s LiquidityPad. These include tracks performed by global superstars Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, BLACKPINK, BTS, Katy Perry, and Maroon 5. The ability to secure rights to such high-profile music catalog demonstrates the team’s industry connections, negotiation skills, and operational capability to deliver on their promises.

Built on Story Protocol Foundation: Aria’s decision to build on Story, the purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for IP management, shows strategic technical judgment. Story Protocol provides the critical infrastructure that bridges legal enforceability and smart contract automation, enabling Aria to tokenize IP assets with authenticity layers and programmable licensing. This foundation partnership ensures that Aria operates on proven, specialized blockchain infrastructure designed specifically for IP use cases.

First-Mover Advantage in IP RWA: Aria Protocol has established itself as the first protocol focused on tokenizing intellectual property real-world assets in fungible form. This pioneering position in the massive $61 trillion IP market gives the team significant competitive advantages in establishing partnerships, setting industry standards, and capturing market share. The team’s vision extends beyond simple tokenization to creating a composable, onchain IP economy with programmable rights and automated royalty distribution.

Transparent Revenue Model: The team has clearly articulated revenue streams including origination fees on new IP launches, transaction and platform fees on secondary trading and staking, and management fees on curated IP vaults. The strategic decision to waive origination fees in early launches prioritizes ecosystem growth over immediate monetization, demonstrating long-term thinking and commitment to building sustainable protocol economics rather than extracting short-term value.

What to Know Before You Buy Aria Protocol#

1. Governance Participation Rights

ARIAIP holders gain voting power in protocol governance decisions that shape Aria’s future direction. Community governance will include critical decisions such as protocol upgrades, new asset classes to be supported, treasury spending allocations, incentive structure designs, and licensing frameworks for remixable or programmable IP. This governance power gives token holders direct influence over how the protocol evolves and grows, making ARIAIP essential for anyone wanting to participate in shaping the future of onchain IP markets.

2. Essential Liquidity Infrastructure

ARIAIP tokens are paired with IP RWA tokens in liquidity pools across decentralized exchanges, creating the fundamental infrastructure for trading IP-backed assets. Without ARIAIP liquidity pairs, there would be no permissionless trading or transparent price discovery for tokenized music rights, film IP, and other cultural assets. This makes ARIAIP a critical component of the entire Aria ecosystem, as it enables the secondary markets that provide liquidity and tradability to previously illiquid IP assets.

3. Staking Rewards and Community Benefits

Staking ARIAIP unlocks exclusive access to token-gated community benefits including early access to creator collaborations, new protocol features, and ecosystem opportunities. The first benefit provides ARIAIP stakers with a 15% discount on Muse Frame, a digital art framing platform. Future benefits will expand as the ecosystem grows, rewarding active participation and long-term commitment to the Aria Protocol community with tangible perks beyond just governance rights.

4. Capped Supply with Controlled Distribution

ARIAIP has a fixed maximum supply of 1 billion tokens with no possibility of additional minting or inflation. At Token Generation Event, 33% of supply (330 million ARIAIP) was unlocked, including allocations for Community Growth, Ecosystem and Partners, Foundation, and Initial Liquidity. The remaining tokens follow structured vesting schedules: Core Team receives 21% with 20% unlocked after 1-year cliff and 2-year linear vesting; Early Investors receive 18% with the same unlock schedule. This controlled distribution prevents sudden supply shocks and aligns long-term incentives.

5. Multi-Chain Token with BSC Availability

While ARIAIP is natively issued on Story Protocol blockchain, the token is also deployed on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) at contract address 0x2a7e3392458307493c86388d5e544aad93286836. This multi-chain availability provides flexibility for traders and investors who prefer the liquidity and ecosystem of BSC. The dual deployment strategy maximizes accessibility while maintaining the core functionality and governance features across both chains.

6. Audited Security and Guardian Verification

ARIAIP token contracts have undergone full security audits by Guardian, a reputable blockchain security firm. The audit covers token contracts, staking contracts, liquidity contracts, and governance modules, ensuring the safety and reliability of the entire ARIAIP infrastructure. All major upgrades and key changes undergo additional audits, demonstrating the team’s commitment to security best practices and protecting token holder value through rigorous third-party verification processes.

How to buy Aria Protocol?#

To purchase ARIAIP tokens, you’ll first need to move your BNB from centralized exchanges like Binance to a GMGN wallet on BNB Smart Chain, then swap for ARIAIP.

Buy Aria Protocol on GMGN

GMGN is a comprehensive trading platform that provides advanced tools for discovering and trading tokens on multiple chains including BSC. The platform offers real-time price tracking, liquidity analysis, and seamless swap functionality, making it an ideal destination for purchasing ARIAIP tokens. GMGN’s user-friendly interface and robust trading infrastructure ensure smooth execution for both new and experienced crypto traders looking to gain exposure to Aria Protocol’s governance token.