---
updatedAt: 2026-10-15T20:05:43.000Z
agentTools:
projectIndex: https://dev.knova.finance/llms.txt
---
# Digital Twins
The Building Block of the Knova System. A common asset model that powers automations and AI agents.
A **Digital Twin** is Knova's standard record of an asset: cash, a deposit, a stablecoin, a security, or any other financial asset. The asset itself stays in the system that holds it, such as a bank, custodian or ledger. Knova mirrors it as a Digital Twin, so every asset, traditional or tokenized, can be tracked, governed, audited and reported in one format.
* **One format** for traditional and tokenized assets
* **System agnostic:** unify transaction operations across systems and reuse automations
* **Off-chain and on-chain:** the same record across settlement rails
A Digital Twin is a common data structure (a FlatBuffer) stored as binary data in a traditional database or any other data store.
This gives businesses a standard digital format to store, track, audit, secure and manage all asset types in a unified way. Asset provenance when interacting with external systems is tracked under [Asset Encumbrance](https://dev.knova.finance/docs/configurable-workflows#asset-encumbrance-with-contracts).
## Digital Twin Structure
Digital Twins are designed to be flexible for different assets.
* The **Asset ID** uniquely identifies the Digital Twin in the system.
* The **Signature System** field identifies the cryptographic signature system in use.
* **Asset Code**, **Amount** and **Decimals** specify the value and type of the asset being twinned (e.g., $100 USD).
* The **Created Timestamp** shows when the Digital Twin was first created.
For ownership, the Owner Key and Authority Key fields identify the current holder and the original issuer of the asset. In summary, Digital Twins give Knova a common language for working with different assets.
The diagram shows the core model only. A Digital Twin also relates to other parts of the platform, such as the contracts and workflows that act on it, the asset rules that govern it, and where the underlying asset is held. These relationships are managed by the platform and aren’t part of the structure shown here.
Details on additional keys, signatures and hashes are in [Digital Twins (Detailed View)](https://dev.knova.finance/docs/digital-twins-detail).
## Digital Twins and AI
A Digital Twin doesn't stand alone. Knova links it to the contracts and workflows that act on it, the asset rules that govern it, and where the underlying asset is held. Because those links are part of one model, an AI agent can reason about an asset by following them, instead of piecing the answer together from separate systems.
Agents reach Knova through MCP. They can ask questions, describe an automation in plain language, or have Knova prepare an action, with the same policy checks and audit trail as every other request.
### What an agent can work out
| Question | What Knova links together | Example answer |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Is this eligible collateral? | The asset's rules (accepted assets, haircut), the contract it would sit under, and its counterparty type | "Yes. BOND\_A is accepted under this repo contract, with a 5% haircut." |
| What happens to my collateral if the price drops below the floor? | The contract's margin floor and the automations attached to it | "If the margin ratio falls below 1.10, a margin call is raised and Knova prepares an instruction to post enough collateral to restore the floor. If collateral valuation falls below 98%, a substitution starts." |
| Where is this asset and who can move it? | The twin's owner, the system that holds the asset, and the policies on that system | "It's held at custodian\_1. Only the owner can instruct a transfer, and transfers over the approval limit need a human sign-off." |
| Can I pay this margin call in a stablecoin? | The contract's cash-equivalent rule and the list of permitted assets | "Yes, if the stablecoin is on the permitted list. The automation swaps to a permitted stablecoin or deposit token." |
| What happens when the repo matures? | The contract's term and its release rule | "The collateral is released and returned to its owner." |
### How the answer is built
1. **Find the twin.** The asset, its amount and its owner come from the Digital Twin.
2. **Follow the links.** Knova resolves the asset rules, the contract and its automations, and the system that holds the asset.
3. **Answer from the model.** The agent explains what the configured rules would do, and points to the records they came from.
### What AI doesn't do
An agent's answers come from what is configured in Knova. When an agent asks Knova to act, the request goes through the same policy checks as any other, human approval applies where it's configured, and every step is recorded in the audit trail. Custodians, ledgers and chains carry out the instructions.