Swiss Real Estate Company Closes A $134 Million Deal Using Blockchain

Published at: Jan. 15, 2020

A building on the prestigious Banhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland was successfully tokenized and sold on the blockchain today.

The new owner of the building is Swiss real estate investment company BrickMark. The company has issued bond-backed crypto tokens that figuratively represent “shares” of ownership in the building. 

The tokens are currently available to accredited institutional investment professionals who want to cut themselves in on earning some of the building’s rental income and benefit from any rise in the property’s value.

Here’s a Google Street View image of Banhofstrasse 52, the building in question. Located in the center of the city in a high-demand retail district, it’s home to private office space and a Swatch retail outlet:

The former owner is a company called RFR Holding, but it will still retain a version of ownership after this sale. The terms required that RFR receive 20% of BrickMark’s total supply of tokens pertaining to the building, so the company will maintain significant interest there and collect passive income from it going forward.

Brickmark says this tech-driven real estate purchase is just the first step in a much bigger plan to build a big blockchain-powered real estate business that could be worth much more than $134 million.

 

But it all has to start somewhere.

Tags
Related Posts
Japanese Home Builder Using Blockchain to Simplify Rental Contracts
In Japan, one of the biggest home builders is making preparations for its contracts on certain rental homes to go on the blockchain. According to an announcement posted to the company’s website on June 8, Sekisui House said that it would use blockchain for rental housing contracts, including covering electricity and gas. The measures will be implemented before March 2021. Users staying in “Shamaison” rental homes will be able to register their phone numbers and addresses to enter the property without ever contacting a real estate agent. Existing technology makes it possible for Sekisui House clients to open and close …
Blockchain / June 9, 2020
‘Overwhelmingly centralized’ tokenization platforms have a new rival
Tokenization platforms are “overwhelmingly centralized” and lack the scalability needed to be a force in the open finance movement, according to developers behind a new protocol. AMPnet says there is no shortage of innovative projects that are making their vision for a more inclusive financial future — but crucial pieces in the puzzle are currently missing. “Houses, apartments, renewable energy power plants, land, traditional financial instruments, company equity and much, much more are all locked away — not to be used or seen by the blockchain market. Five hundred trillion dollars in assets — just waiting to be brought to …
Technology / May 10, 2021
Why Kevin O'Leary thinks NFTs could become bigger than Bitcoin
Millionaire investor and crypto proponent Kevin O'Leary thinks that the NFT sector could be worth more than Bitcoin in the future. Speaking with CNBC’s Capital Connection on Jan. 5, O'Leary — also known as Mr. Wonderful — argued that NFTs provide a greater potential to attract capital than Bitcoin due to their ability to tokenize and authenticate physical assets such as cars, watches and real estate: “You’re going to see a lot of movement in terms of doing authentication and insurance policies and real estate transfer taxes all online over the next few years, making NFTs a much bigger, more …
Adoption / Jan. 6, 2022
Weiss Ratings issues warning over crypto mortgage risks
Florida-based ratings and research firm Weiss Ratings has fired out a warning over the risks of crypto mortgages amid the current economic climate in the United States. The company paid particular focus to Milo, a digital banking startup from Miami that offers 30-year mortgages backed by Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or stablecoins as collateral. The firm requires zero down payments and its loan rates vary between 3.95% and 5.95%. In the Tuesday report, Weiss analyst Jon D. Markman urged caution with such mortgages, citing the poor performance of stocks and crypto this year, a U.S. housing bubble, rising interest rates …
Blockchain / May 3, 2022
Six reasons why blockchain makes sense for commercial real estate: Deloitte
Solutions built around blockchain technology offer several upfront benefits, including a censorship-resistant, irreversible distributed ledger. Deloitte’s study revealed blockchain’s position as a perfect fit for real estate use cases around leasing and selling. Blockchain innovations often outdo traditional systems by not only digitizing information but also introducing a near real-time trustless environment, among other features. Big Four accounting firm Deloitte uncovered six opportunities for blockchain to disrupt the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. The above infographic highlights six key pain points for CRE owners when leasing and selling their properties and maintaining complex transaction data. With this in the backdrop, …
Adoption / Aug. 8, 2022