Bloktopia is a virtual skyscraper in the Metaverse comprised of 21 levels to pay homage to the 21 million total maximum supply of Bitcoin (BTC). Owners of its BLOK tokens will be known as Bloktopians. Users will be able to buy and sell nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, purchase digital ad venues, own real estate, and more in the Bloktopia virtual reality. Meanwhile, Bloktopians can also earn revenue by selling or leasing virtual property in the skyrscraper to interested buyers. Bloktopia in-game footage | Source: Bloktopia The project, set to launch sometime next year, is built on the Polygon network, a …
Decentralized mortgage lender Bacon Protocol has minted its first seven mortgages as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, offering investors and borrowers new options for accessing the residential mortgage market. The interest rate for each NFT mortgage ranges from 1.5% to 3.1% on properties in four U.S. states, the company disclosed Wednesday. That’s the interest rate borrowers pay after minting their mortgage through Bacon Protocol. By comparison, the average mortgage rate in the United States ranged from 2.27% to 2.98% for the week ending Nov. 10, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage peaked at 3.14% on Oct. 28. Bacon’s decentralized …
Fractional ownership of buildings and property developments is becoming one of the adoption areas for blockchain technology in the real estate business. From democratizing access to real estate investment to improving liquidity in the market, there is an argument to be made for tokenization being a net positive for the real estate space. Tokenization via fractional real estate investment is also another example of the emerging “sharing economy” that seems to be encouraging crowdfunded ownership, a trend that could help to decentralize the global asset market across several sectors. With Millennials, the maiden generation of digital natives entering their peak …
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the largest wholesale and purchase lenders in the United States, is ditching Bitcoin (BTC) payments plans after running a test. UWM officially announced Thursday that the company has successfully conducted its first-ever cryptocurrency mortgage pilot, accepting five crypto payments in October and one in September. The firm did not disclose more information about the test, neither specifying what cryptocurrencies were part of the pilot nor what companies have assisted the firm in completing it. “We’re proud to be the first mortgage lender to successfully pilot this technology and further demonstrate that we’re innovating for …
Alternative investment firm Colchis Capital has partnered with infrastructure provider Bison Trails to explore the potential utility of Provenance blockchain in enhancing real estate management services, demonstrating yet another promising use case for distributed ledger technology. Through the partnership, Bison Trails will provide the San Francisco-based Colchis Capital with node infrastructure that can be used to enhance its business operations, the companies announced on Tuesday. As a key infrastructure provider to Provenance blockchain, Bison Trails will also aid Colchis Capital in utilizing the technology to bring more efficiency and transparency to real estate investment management. The investment manager is developing …
The power of the Dogecoin meme is strong despite transaction levels of Dogecoin (DOGE) hitting the lowest they’ve been since 2017. Multiple firms have made DOGE adoption plays this week, including Robinhood, which confirmed that it was going to roll out a new crypto wallet feature in its app next month supporting DOGE deposits and withdrawals. The meme coin’s co-creator, Billy Markus (who no longer works on the project), stated via Twitter earlier today: “Okay we are allowed to overreact now Robinhood wallets is huge news for Dogecoin - it opens up so many users to the real utility of …
The cryptocurrency ecosystem is showing signs of a recovery on Sept. 22 following a 48-hour corrective stint which saw Bitcoin and altcoins sell-off to their swing lows. Equities and crypto investors were clearly worried about the possible bankruptcy of China’s Evergrande real estate firm and many feared that the possible default could spark a global decline in financial markets. These concerns were temporarily put to rest after the real estate firm was able to come to an agreement with bondholders and avoid defaulting on its obligations technically, and this helped to spark a recovery across the cryptocurrency market that lifted …
As the prospect of Chinese property giant Evergrande defaulting on $305 billion worth of debt looms, pundits are weighing in on how the firm’s bankruptcy could impact the legacy and crypto markets. Speculation as to whether the real estate investment giant will default has coincided with a downturn across the crypto and stock markets, leaving many analysts divided on whether traders should be buying the dip or looking to take profits in preparation for further bearish momentum. At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is down by around 13% since the downturn started on Saturday, while the S&P 500 is …
The cryptocurrency market faced a fresh round of selling on Sept. 20 as global financial markets fell under pressure thanks to fears surrounding the potential default of Evergrande Group, a China-based real estate company whose collapse could send ripples across equities markets. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the early morning sell-off in Bitcoin (BTC) intensified into midday as the price dropped to a low of $42,493 before bulls managed to bid it back above $43,500. With fear on the rise and uncertainty spreading across the market, here’s what analysts are saying about the price move on …
The Securities Exchange and Commission of Thailand has a license to an asset-backed token offering service based on the Ethereum blockchain. Fraction, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based fintech firm Fraction Group, has received a license allowing it to list and trade tokens for fractional ownership of physical or digital assets, the firm announced Thursday. The license was granted through the Thai SEC’s official portal for initial coin offering established back in 2018. The license lays out the foundation for Fraction’s upcoming service for asset digitization and fractionalization, referred to as an initial fraction offering (IFO). The firm …
A fintech firm from Pune, India has launched a blockchain-based registry system named RealX that allows Indian citizens to purchase fractional ownership in properties. A report from The Economic Times states that RealX has partnered with Tripvillas, a holiday home rental service, to blend ownership of holiday properties in accordance with usage and yield. Tripvillas will also be responsible for managing the basket of holiday properties intended for co-investment. According to RealX chief operating officer and co-founder Neera Inamdar, the COVID-19 pandemic was a key driver for the platform’s launch, as the real estate market’s instability concerned both property developers …
Global business provider Zventus announced a new blockchain initiative on Monday called the “Mortgage Blockchain Lab.” The lab is meant to collate the resources of several mortgage experts, technology firms and academic institutions to collaborate on blockchain research and development focused on the mortgage sector. The California-based firm, whose product and service offerings span a broad business spectrum including business consultancy, human resource strategy and tech support, will work with its partners in this blockchain sandbox to develop and test new products and services. Early reports from the firm suggest that the costs of loans for financial organizations will be …