The commercial real estate sector is squarely in the sights of the blockchain industry. Advocates justifiably believe that the technology offers the ability to streamline everything from capital formation to transaction settlement at hitherto unseen levels of speed and efficiency. Additionally, through a process known as tokenization, blockchain platforms can create digital representations of shares as well as ownership rights in properties and investment vehicles, simplifying the process of reselling those assets by creating a robust and liquid dual-sided market for an otherwise illiquid asset. This is very exciting and has been a long-time coming for an industry that has …

Why have blockchain pilots in real estate abated somewhat? Those projects bump up against the fundamental inconsistency of blockchain and existing state system, and it seems they cannot confessed to this. First, there is no such thing as the use of blockchain for real estate. There are plenty of different concepts and ideas, and as you will find below, some of them are useless. And when you consider probably the most ultimate idea — i.e., a title token — you understand that none of the existing projects could offer a complex solution to address issues with inheritance, lost private keys, …

David Hodge is the director of European operations for AEI Consultants, an employee-owned international consulting firm that provides comprehensive services to commercial lenders, property owners, managers, tenants, and developers, industries, institutions, government agencies and insurers, including many Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 1992, AEI is based in the San Francisco Bay area, with offices across the United States and Europe. The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. An increasing number of countries have begun the process of implementing functional and legal frameworks to regulate blockchain-recorded tokens …

A physical bitcoin (BTC) is selling on eBay for $99,000, a listing on July 1 shows. The seller claims the “collector’s must have” is a Casascius brass token that was created in 2011. According to the listing, the physical coin is loaded with one BTC that has not been redeemed, and all of the seals remain intact. Payment can be made in crypto or cash, and the seller says they will also consider trading it for real estate. However, the listing adds that “Cars and boats = no.” The seller says they made the purchase back in 2012 and have …

After struggling to receive recognition of legitimacy within the mainstream zeitgeist during its sophomoric years, distributed ledger technology (DLT) now comprises the driving force behind a new wave of technological creative destruction. Today, we are going to take a look at some of the industries and processes that are most dramatically undergoing a transformation in response to the advent of blockchain technology. Food The opaque nature of global supply chains poses a significant challenge to efforts to ensure that the commodities, labor and inputs required to produce goods are from a safe and ethical origin. In order to tackle these …

In Malta, new rules will require that all property rental contracts be registered on a blockchain for security considerations, local news outlet Malta Today reported on June 23. Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat said that the cabinet approved new regulations, which will be announced over the coming days, that require rent contracts be registered on a blockchain to protect them from tampering and ensure authorized access. Muscat said: “We will now be showing people the added value of this technology through applying it to something which they will use in their daily lives. Such a contract cannot be tampered with …

European investment manager Peakside Capital Advisors has launched a real estate fund for the German market using blockchain technology, the company confirmed in a press release on June 12. The fund, which focuses on assets between €15 and €75 million ($17-$85 million), is a product of a partnership with German funds-as-a-service technology platform Brickblock. Bricklock operates ScalingFunds, an investment management platform that runs on blockchain. The startup tokenized its first property in March this year, as reported by Cointelegraph Deutsche. In today’s press release, Stefan Aumann, founding partner of Peakside, commented that they are “looking to utilise the advances in …

Family-owned property firm Stan Group — which represents the assets of “shop king” real estate scion Tang Shing-bor — is set to meet with Hong Kong’s securities watchdog in January 2020 to seek approval for the sale of tokenized real estate assets. Hong Kong English-language newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the news on June 12. Stan Group is reported to have a real estate portfolio estimated at over HK$50 billion ($6.38 billion). Against the backdrop of reportedly lacklustre sentiment in the local property market amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, the firm is seeking …

A major United States trade association, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), has invested in blockchain-based real estate platform Propy, Forbes reports on June 10. The NAR’s strategic investment arm, Second Century Ventures, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ethereum blockchain-based startup Propy as a part of its commercial real estate technology accelerator REach. Launched in February 2019, the REach program is reportedly the first commercial accelerator of its kind, aiming to bring together major technology disruptors in the real estate industry by selecting ten startups to enter each year, the report notes. By choosing Propy, Second Century Ventures intends …

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) and telecoms firm Etisalat have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning real estate blockchain technology, United Arab Emirates-based outlet Gulf Today reported on June 10. The DLD works under the Executive Council of Dubai in real estate-related services, while Etisalat is a multinational, Emirati firm that serves 15 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Both parties have said they aim to implement smart government standards and introduce paperless management and digital contracts for property transactions. Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, DLD’s director general, said the agreement is part of an ambition to make Dubai …

United Kingdom-based international bank Barclays and technology investment firm Bold Capital Partners have led a $5.5 million funding round for fintech firm Crowdz's blockchain-based global invoice exchange, according to a press release on May 28. According to the report, the blockchain-based technology will purportedly make invoice processing more efficient by digitizing and automatizing what are traditionally manual processes. The technology also automates the process of finding financiers and sending them invoices. CEO of Crowdz, Payson E. Johnston, emphasizes the importance that this speedier invoice processing has for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs): "Today, small and midsize businesses often have to …

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has detailed several blockchain use cases relevant to the real estate industry in a report shared with Cointelegraph on May 23. The document is reportedly the result of several months of work by the group’s members, which includes over 50 real estate companies. The report describes four use cases, the first of which is the idea of tokenizing properties to allow for more granular investment in an official way. The EEA also believes that blockchain has the potential to shorten the process of recording and transferring properties while increasing transparency and making land registries trustless. …