Smartlands, a blockchain based securities platform, has partnered with leading real estate company Colliers International to create real estate-based security tokens.
Blockchain for Real Estate
Stellar-based security tokenization platform Smartlands has partnered with Colliers International, a Canadian multinational commercial real estate services company. The two firms will work together to explore the possibilities of tokenizing real estate assets and work on a project to securitize specific properties managed by the real estate giant.
The deal was inked earlier on Thursday in Lithuania and announced on the blockchain firm’s official website on Friday. Colliers International is a 15,000-person strong organization operating out of 500 offices in 69 countries. The company clocked an impressive $2.7 billion in revenue in 2017 by managing over two billion square feet of real estate.
Benefits of Tokenizing Properties
The use of the Smartlands platform will allow Colliers to issue security tokens against specific selected properties. Security tokens, unlike utility tokens, are regulated financial securities like stocks. The issuer of security tokens can raise liquidity from around the globe by transferring ownership to the holders of the digital asset.
Ramune Askiniene, CEO of Colliers International Advisors in Lithuania, said:
The global financial and commercial landscape clearly shows trillions of dollars worth of real estate ripe for tokenization. We at Colliers are positive that digital entrepreneurship of the new post-ICO era of security tokens will have a significant impact on redefining wealth creation, investing, fundraising, and a host of other Internet-based commercial activities. Colliers is pleased to cooperate with the Smartlands Platform who appears to have a perfect grasp on asset tokenization on Stellar.
Arnoldas Nauseda, CEO of Smartlands Platform, said:
Creating liquidity for a property of any kind was always a main challenge for the real estate industry. Also, legacy finance institutions rule the real estate space with an iron fist and are showing very little willingness to let up the pressure, adopt new technologies and embrace the Zeitgeist. Smartlands Platform approached Colliers International with a ready technological solution for tokenizing ownership of the real-world assets in a fully compliant legal framework, which instantly solves virtually all problems of the real estate industry. Colliers was perceptive enough to enter the partnership immediately.
How the Smartlands Process Works
The platform leverages the Stellar blockchain and is focused primarily on real estate and agriculture assets. Stellar is a decentralized, open-source protocol for quick cross-border payments. Smartlands manages the due diligence, auditing, and regulatory compliance requirements for the issuer company. The tokens are secured with physical assets. The crypto-assets are made available to investors through the platform and can be traded on digital asset exchanges. Profits generated will be shared with the token holders just like dividends in stocks.
The partnership between Smartlands and Colliers International is a positive development for the security token ecosystem which has not seen much traction so far. The move will encourage more issuers to come forward and leverage the blockchain for creating liquidity to scale up their businesses.
Do you think security tokens are a better investment than utility tokens as they are under regulatory supervision? Let us know in the comments below.
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