A new luxury condo development in Manhattan becomes the first real estate property to become tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain. The building is located at 436 and 442 East 13th Street in the East Village. There are twelve 1,700 square foot units in this residence that offer top-of-the-line internationally inspired finishes. The overall property has been appraised at over $30 Million.
Ryan Serhant, star of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York, is the listing broker on the deal. “He and the developer are turning to tokenization as a new method of financing, which could serve as a better alternative for the project and investors…Tokenization is the process of representing the ownership of real world assets digitally on a blockchain.”[1] The entire project will be funded through the digital currency. This is particularly appealing because it bypasses the issues and fees incurred through a traditional bank financing. This new method of raising funds can prove to be highly effective, and is following a growing trend of integrating blockchain technology into everyday lives.
With this new method of financing, investors will be able to receive either analog or digital interest in the security. The project has teamed up with Propellr and Fluidity, “two companies that have created a financial token-based fundraising framework that is fully compliant with US securities regulations.”[2] Propellr is a FINRA registered broker dealer that stores and transacts security tokens. While, Fluidity is compliant with government regulatory actions, which allows them to sell digital securities directly for fiat currency. These two companies are working hand-in-hand to bring tokenization to the real estate market, without the problems brought by regulatory authorities. Todd Lippiatt, CEO of Propellr, discussed the condo project and the future of tokenized security in real estate. In an interview with Forbes, Lippiatt said,
“Traditional securities structures and issuance frameworks haven’t evolved in a long time. With blockchain technology, a transparent and trust less ecosystem can start to solve the information asymmetry that hinders the market’s potential for liquidity. This asset, structure, sponsor, and sales team showcase this evolution. With proper discipline and respect, the future is bright for tokenized securities.” [3]
This is following the growing trend of blockchain and the conversion of real world assets into digital tokens within a ledger. The world is continuing to digitalize, and the real estate community is following suit.
[1] Wolfson, R. (2018, October). A First For Manhattan: $30M Real Estate Property Tokenized With Blockchain. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwolfson/2018/10/03/a-first-for-manhattan-30m-real-estate-property-tokenized-with-blockchain/#60720c434895
[2] Petersen, C. (2018, October). Multi-Million Dollar New York Property Tokenized with Blockchain.” Retrieved from NewsBTC: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/10/04/multi-million-dollar-new-york-property-tokenized-with-blockchain/
[3] Op. Cit. n1