> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://city-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://city-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/platform/products/curated-vaults-and-otps-compared.md).

# Curated Vaults and OTPs compared

What a participant holds, who decides the holdings and how each product exits.

A Curated Vault suits a return that an operator must produce and exposures that need pooling to work, such as capacity-limited strategies. An OTP suits a defined basket held directly, where ownership, per-asset control and transparency matter most. Both architectures are non-custodial, both enforce a published rule set, and both publish their operating history.

<figure><img src="https://3297077862-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FJxNp2waFk6hg1G4lEQZu%2Fuploads%2FWBXO6nQwb8ZEWZAI0xgN%2Ffig-compare.png?alt=media&amp;token=80e38c0a-9443-4f7e-90f4-62b30e9e6f8e" alt="Curated Vault compared with Onchain Token Portfolio"><figcaption><p>A Curated Vault pools deposits under a curator's mandate. An OTP keeps every constituent in the participant's own account under a published methodology.</p></figcaption></figure>

|                         | Curated Vault                                                       | Onchain Token Portfolio                                                         |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Participant holds**   | Receipt Tokens, a claim on a pooled vault                           | The constituent assets, in the participant's own account                        |
| **Holdings decided by** | The curator, within the approved mandate                            | The published methodology; the list changes only on the source or rule it names |
| **Source of return**    | Strategy income: lending interest, funding, credit spreads and fees | Market prices of the constituents                                               |
| **Accounting**          | NAV per share, struck at each settlement                            | Token balances, readable onchain                                                |
| **Exit**                | Liquid or epoch-based redemption                                    | One transaction back to one asset, or any constituent sold on its own           |
| **Dominant risk**       | Strategy loss, or a contract failure affecting the pool             | Constituent prices falling; onchain execution risk; liquidity risk              |