Methodology

The three verdicts

Every combination of country, asset class and buyer type resolves to one of three answers. Can own means the rules place no barrier on someone in your position. Conditional means you can hold it, but something stands between you and using or exiting it — a licence, an ownership cap, a regulatory approval, an identity check. Cannot own means the rules exclude you.

The middle verdict is the one that matters most and the one most services collapse. An asset you can buy but cannot redeem, collect on or sell is not the same as one you own outright, and Vestail will not round it to either neighbour.

Where a rule comes from

Rules are drawn from primary sources: statutes and regulations, guidance published by the relevant regulator, and the issuer's own terms where an asset is issued rather than legislated. Each rule records the documents behind it and the date it was last checked against them, and both are meant to be shown beside the verdict rather than kept internally.

Secondary sources — news coverage, summaries, another service's answer — are not sufficient on their own. They can point to a document; they cannot stand in for it.

What is not yet verified

Vestail currently carries 480 rules: 12 countries, 20 asset classes, citizens and foreigners. None of them has yet been checked against a primary document. They are illustrative — they demonstrate the shape of the answer, not the answer itself. Sourcing them is the work in progress, and until a rule carries its documents and a verification date, it should not be relied on for a real decision.

We would rather say this plainly than let the interface imply an authority the data has not earned. A compliance answer with no source behind it is a guess wearing a uniform.

Country is declared, never detected

You tell Vestail where you are buying from, and you can change it at any time. There is no KYC, no identity check and no inference from your IP address. Vestail shows what the rules say and routes accordingly; it does not police who you are, and it cannot — the declaration is yours to make honestly.

What the tokens actually are

The same listed share exists onchain as several different legal claims, and they are not interchangeable. One is backed by shares held in custody and can be redeemed. One is a security entitlement through a broker. One is a debt security giving economic exposure to the price with no legal or beneficial right to the share at all. Vestail records which is which, because the difference only becomes visible at the moment you try to exit.

Corrections

If a rule is wrong, we want to know, and a cited document beats an argument. Raise it at github.com/OutstandingVick/vestail.

Not legal or financial advice

Vestail is an information service. Nothing on it is legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Rules change, and they apply differently to individual circumstances. For a large or unusual purchase, take advice from a professional qualified in that country.