Having just sold a column as a nonfungible token, or NFT, for half a million dollars, The New York Times is now wondering if the whole scene is in a bit of a bubble. In a Tuesday article, "Art’s NFT Question: Next Frontier in Trading, or a New Form of Tulip?," author Scott Reyburn questions the sustainability of the current NFT bubble and draws comparisons to the Dutch “tulip mania” of the 1630s. Tulip mania, for anyone who doesn’t hodl flowers, was a market bubble in the Netherlands that saw prices for a single tulip bulb rocket up to a …

An unusually rowdy (and informative) virtual panel at the Security Token Summit yesterday reveals the fractious difficulties of bringing regulated assets on-chain — as well as the promise and progress of the tokenized real estate use case despite those hurdles. Michael Flight of the Liberty Fund, Jude Regev of Jointer.io, and Mohsin Masud of AKRU spoke for 30 minutes on the state of securitized real estate in a free-flowing and often-contentious discussion that highlighted the complexities that arise when decentralized finance and stringent governmental oversight meet. Host Kiran Arif of AKRU seldom spoke. When asked why tokenized real estate is …

Investor Ivan Malpica listed a share in a property at 5828 Wise Avenue in St. Louis on NFT marketplace Mintable last night for roughly 42.43 ETH — worth nearly $76,000 at the time of writing. The listing promises "NFT fractional ownership (50%) of this fully gutted rehabbed home," noting the home had been appraised for $138,000 last year and currently generates $1200 in monthly rental income. The listing concludes: "Let's Make History together with the first ever NFT for REAL ESTATE!" Speaking to Cointelegraph, Malpica said the use of an NFT enabled the property to be purchased with cryptocurrency, but …

Vonovia, a major European real estate group, has issued a 20 million euro ($24 million) bond using the Stellar blockchain. According to a Jan. 13 announcement, Vonovia has deployed the Stellar blockchain to issue security tokens for the transfer of real estate rights. The tokens were issued through an online marketplace called firstwire. Vonovia said that the blockchain-powered bond has a total term of three years. Helene von Roeder, chief financial officer at Vonovia, said that blockchain-powered bond digitization enabled the company to finance themselves “faster, easier and cheaper.” “Issues are transparent and traceable in real time, which guarantees a …

Despite the broader security token market booming in recent months, real estate tokens appear to be struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. AspenCoin (ASPD), the digital security representing fractional ownership in 19% of a five-star 179-room hotel in Colorado, has announced discounts for tokenholders who stay at the resort to help boost sales. Aspen Digital is proud to announce loyalty program to token holders .⁦@TQTezos⁩ ⁦@tezos⁩ ⁦@tZERO⁩ ⁦@aspen_digital⁩ ⁦@ElevatedReturns⁩ pic.twitter.com/HWozPxA2Km — Stephane De Baets (@StephaneDeBaets) September 16, 2020 Holders of between 10,000 and 99,999 ASPD will be eligible for a 20% cash rebate on their stay at the St. Regis Aspen …

Despite receiving hype as a potential killer-app for blockchain, tokenized real estate has in many ways failed to live up to its early promise. However, fintech startup Reinno has just launched an investment platform for tokenized United States commercial real estate, covering $237 million worth of property at launch. Accredited investors globally can now participate in several different offerings, including both individual assets and diversified property portfolios. All of the properties are income-producing, and including medical facilities, residential blocks and industrial buildings. The new platform will allow investors to enter the commercial real estate market with a minimum investment of …

Aspen (ASPD), the security token representing fractional ownership in the St. Regis Aspen Resort — a five-star 179-room hotel in Colorado, has commenced trading on the tZERO alternative trading system. The news marks the first Tezos (XTZ)-based security token to be listed on a regulated platform. ASPD is just the third token listed on tZERO, and is the first third-party platform supported by the exchange. Saum Noursalehi, tZERO’s CEO, stated he is “thrilled to see the St. Regis Aspen digital security trading on the tZERO platform.” “Digitizing and trading private securities like Aspen will be the future model that will …

Real estate blockchain platform developer Ubitquity will build a platform for creating tokenized property titles with Rainier Title, a news report said. The platform will also log records of conveyance for the Washington-based Rainier Title. It will integrate with the conveyance suite Qualia. Rainier Title is currently in the process of migrating to Qualia. Tokens created through the platform represent a client’s property so title owners have more opportunities to develop new value like a fractionalized ownership investment in the real estate. Ubitquity said in a statement that having tokens represent a property, along with records of conveyance stored on …

As the initial coin offering (ICO) boom subsided and the 2018 crypto bear trend began to set in, many analysts predicted that security tokens may drive the next market cycle — with the vast capital locked in the real estate sector being eyed hungrily for tokenization. However, with the Bitcoin halving, Ethereum 2.0, and the emergence of DeFi capturing the imagination of crypto markets recently, real estate tokenization is no longer the flavor of the month, and some are questioning its viability. Real estate tokenization in 2017/2018 In an article in The Investor, director of global research at real estate …

Max Crowdfund, a blockchain-powered real estate crowdfunding platform connecting property developers and investors, has received approval from the Financial Markets Authority in the Netherlands. With approval from the AFM, Max Property Group — the platform’s parent company — will commence the platform’s roll-out in partnership with distributed ledger technology provider Jelurida. Investors pay a one-time fee equal to 0.1% of their investment, in addition to monthly administration fees of 0.1%. The fees will be used to purchase and burn MPG’s utility tokens. Max Crowdfund attracts 70,000 users pre-launch The platform seeks to democratize real estate investment, with investors able to …

Leading security token exchange tZERO has partnered with Aspen Digital Inc. to enable trade for Aspen’s digital security. The ‘ASPEN’ token, previously dubbed ‘Aspen Coin’, represents $18 million worth of indirect ownership in the St. Regis Aspen Resort — a five-star, 179-room hotel situated in Colorado. ASPEN’s listing on tZERO comes as the popularity of real estate tokens continues to show steady growth. RealT hosts 17 real estate token offerings Aspen Digital’s August 2018 token sale was widely considered to be the first real estate security token offering, with the firm issuing 1.675 million shares at $20 each. While the …

This week’s headlines from Japan included real estate player Tosei and Tokyo Financial Holdings listing an asset-backed digital financial product, Cointelegraph Japan interviewing a former Japanese central bank staffer, Coinage registering as an exchange with Japan's financial services agency, and a life insurance company testing digital asset billing transaction. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Tosei and Tokyo Financial Holdings launch a digital securities product Real estate outfit Tosei and Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, hold plans for a digital securities product. The pair "will list digital securities backed by the rental …