This week, the Chinese-based tokenization platform, UPRETS announced plans to begin tokenization of several condominiums in New York owned by the XIN Group. The news showcases how blockchain technology continues to upend the real estate markets globally. Additionally, it represents a more international approach to real estate liquidity concerns.

In order to accomplish this monumental task, UPRETS formed a strategic partnership with the Xinyuan Real Estate blockchain platform. Together the firms intend to offer investors a stake in the XIN Group’s Oosten Property holdings.

XIN Group – New York Properties

These luxury condominiums are located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The units feature a modern floor plan with 2-3 bedrooms per unit. As you would imagine, NY property values are through the roof. Recognizing the growing demand for these properties, XIN Group intends to fractionalize the ownership of these highly sought after units.

Fractional Ownership – UPRETS

Tokenization removes most of the boundaries preventing people from investing in real estate. For one, there is far less paperwork to get approved. Additionally, investors can make micro-investments in order to diversify their holding accordingly.

UPRETS via Homepage

In this instance, each token will represent a $1 share in the ownership of the properties. In this manner, anyone can begin their real estate investment career. Additionally, these low investment entry levels provide much-needed liquidity to the local real estate markets.

UPRETS

The properties tokenization will take place on the UPRETS permissioned blockchain. This unique and highly functional blockchain is based on X-BOLT consortium chain. Consequently, it provides users with added functionality when compared to other options.

Flexible Blockchain – UPRETS

For example, the UPRETS blockchain design is meant to be flexible. The blockchain can communicate with other blockchains to facilitate a more streamlined payment system. Currently, payment can be made via the Bitcoin blockchain. Notably, developers hope to expand these capabilities to include Ethereum investors in the coming weeks.

This added interoperability allows URT tokens to trade on a wide variety of secondary markets. Consequently, more liquidity is added to the entire investment process with this strategy.

Property Tokenization is on the Rise

The XIN Groups’ advantageous strategy is now the new normal. Every day new property tokenization firms emerge. The benefits provided by these companies are too much to ignore. Tokenization opens local real estate to international investors and streamlines the entire sale process in a way previously unimaginable.

Additionally, Tokenization allows the average person to invest in real estate without putting forth a huge amount of funding. Traditionally, real estate investment takes a considerable amount of cash. Plus there are tons of regulatory and financial hoops one must jump through in order to complete a traditional property sale. Tokenization eliminates a large portion of these requirements.

XIN Group – Moving Forward

The XIN Group is at the forefront of the tokenization revolution. When you consider how desirable a spacious condominium located in New York currently is, it’s easy to see the logic behind choosing these properties. As such, you can expect to see this trend continue until the majority of all real estate sales occur via the blockchain.

This week, Max Property Group B.V. made crypto history after the issuance of the first security tokens on the Ignis blockchain. As part of the arrangement, Max Property Group tokenized a part of its real estate holdings onto the Ignis platform as a controlled asset. The news showcases the further expansion of tokenized real estate in the EU market and increased development on Ardor’s commercial blockchain ecosystem.

This tokenized real estate became MPGS security tokens, also known as Asset I.D. 7646766282089936451. MPGS token holders gain rights such as profit-sharing in the property’s rental income. In fact, token holders gain most of the rights afforded to company shareholders with the exception of voting rights. Additionally, each share in the property falls under the monitoring and control of STAK, a Dutch Foundation.

Ignis

Ignis is the public blockchain of the Ardor platform. This 4th generation blockchain features a robust design created specifically for Dapp development. Some of the most advanced features provided by Ignis include messaging, voting, and asset exchange protocols. Additionally, the blockchain can function as a data cloud.

Ignis Blockchain via Homepage

Importantly, Ignis utilizes a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. PoS consensus is far more efficient than Proof-of-Work systems because they don’t require nodes to compete over computationally heavy algorithms. While PoS systems aren’t perfect, many see this form of consensus as the natural evolution of cryptos. Notably, Ethereum plans to shift to a PoS consensus mechanism in the coming months.

Ardor

Ardor developed Ignis with the goal to create a developer-friendly blockchain platform that could easily be built atop of. The platform is packed with tools to build blockchain applications that are cost-effective, secure, and scalable. Notably, Ardor is a BaaS platform developed by Jelurida.

Max Property Group,

For its part, the Max Property Group provided the real estate. This firm specializes in crowdfunding and the fractional ownership of real estate. Currently, the Dutch company possesses millions of Euros in assets under management in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Notably, the Max Property Group entered the market in 2016. The firm specializes in property sales, management, and rental activities. On top of these offerings, the company operates a popular property investment and blockchain academy.

Max Crowdfund

Max Crowdfund is a subsidiary of the Max Property Group. This company is the crowdfunding wing of the Max Property Group. Importantly, the platform is compliant with EU securities standards. Max Crowdfund brings together developers, investors, and regulators.

Speaking on the tokenization decision, Max Property Group’s Managing Director, Mark Lloyd took a moment to discuss the changing real estate landscape. He noted the care his firm takes to stay up-to-date with the latest technological advancements. He also discussed the overall trend to digitize the sector.

Max Crowdfund and Ignis

Max Property is at the forefront of EU real estate tokenization. The firm continues to demonstrate its pioneering strategies in the space. This latest strategic partnership gives the company access to a host of valuable EU real estate to tokenize. It also showcases Ignis’s true capabilities. You can expect to hear more about Max Property, Ardor, and its Ignis blockchain in the coming weeks.

Blockchain continues to disrupt the EU real estate market. Just this week, the Tokyo-based investment bank, MBK announced plans to tokenize the sale of a property in Estonia. The news follows the greater trend of traditional financial institutions entering the blockchain space via a tokenized real estate STO.

According to company documentation, MBK created a strategic partnership with the Singapore-based real estate firm BitofProperty (BOP). BOP’s unique approach to the market made the firm well-known in the region. BOP specializes in fractional ownership of EU real estate.

The firm breaks down acquired property rights into smaller shares that are then offered to investors. Investors receive dividends equal to the number of shares they hold in a particular property. This strategy allows investors to diversify their holdings.

For its part, BOP will handle the acquisition of the properties. Then, the firm will fractionalize ownership rights and tokenize the shares. The company will work alongside MBK to ensure the tokenized shares are compliant with the current EU regulations.

Angoo Fintech

Once the tokenization of the property is complete, MBK will offer the new financial instruments on its subsidiary – Angoo FinTech. Angoo Fintech is an Estonian company acquired by MBK a few months prior as part of the firm’s EU repositioning strategy.

MBK Tokyo via Homepage

MBK Strategic Partners

Notably, MBK signed a deal with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed firm, BS Securities to further develop the company’s Asian market positioning. MBK is already a business powerhouse in Japan and China, but company executives hope to utilize this new tokenization strategy to catapult the firm into the forefront of the EU market.

The Growth of MBK

MBK is a Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed merchant bank. In 1974, MBK entered service under the name West Japan Spinning & Weaving Co., Ltd. Since that time, the organization has grown to become a premier banking institution in Asia.

Estonia Crypto

Estonia continues to show the world its pro-crypto aspirations. Back in 2018, the country was among the first jurisdictions in the European Union to legalize crypto-related activities. The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the regulator issuing crypto-related licenses, approved almost 900 firms since that time.

Estonia received praise for its easy-to-navigate registration process. Some blockchain-based firms reported that they received their licensing in only one or two weeks. The only catch is that the licensed would revoke if the company did not start operations within six months of receiving approval.

Two Estonian Crypto Licenses

Estonia broke down their licenses into two main categories. The first was for firms which operated digital asset exchanges. Of these companies, 500 received licensing. Additionally, 400 wallet providers received approval to date.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance introduced changes to the licensing process on May 3, 2019. The changes extended processing times from 30 to 90 days. Additionally, it established the requirement for all companies to operate a branch in Estonia. Additionally, the registered office address and the board of directors now need to be located in Estonia. Lastly, the state fee for the emission of the license increased from €345 ($386) to €3,330 ($3,729).

MBK – A Tokenization Strategy to Win

As it stands today, MBK has a strong position in the Asian market. The firm will soon extend that reach into the EU markets through this latest maneuver. You can expect to see more tokenization projects emerge from this innovative firm in the coming months.