Three Swiss Firms Complete ‘First’ $3 Mln Real Estate Transaction on Blockchain

Blockchain property transaction platform blockkimo Ltd along with two other companies have jointly completed “the first” real estate transaction on a blockchain in Switzerland. The development was announced by blockimmo in a blog post on Mar. 1.

Blockimmo, proptech company Elea Labs Ltd. and digital assets service firm Swiss Crypto Tokens Ltd. have conducted a blockchain-based real estate transaction —  consisting of 18 apartments and a restaurant — at a cost of 3 million Swiss francs ($2.98 million).

The property was reportedly tokenized, which means that its real asset value is now represented digitally on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain in the form of tokens. The transaction was supported by Swiss Crypto Tokens’ stablecoin pegged to the Swiss franc, the CryptoFranc (XCHF), to avoid price fluctuation risks.

Elea Labs provided the real estate data of the property, ensuring that each building has its own identity, or “Property DNA.” “In the future, the Property DNA will enable a transparent digital due diligence and will also simplify, accelerate and reduce the cost of processes across the entire real estate industry,” said Martin Schnider, CEO of Elea Labs.

Per the post, it was the first step towards further tokenization of properties that blockimmo purportedly plans to sell through a “public crowdsale.” Property tokens are expected to be listed on a regulated exchange in the second quarter of the current year.

Switzerland has developed a reputation as a blockchain and crypto-friendly country due to its positive treatment of the technologies. A recent study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences revealed that the Swiss fintech market grew by 62 percent in 2018, wherein the  growth is reportedly contingent on distributed ledger technology-related companies.

In January, blockchain-based American real estate platform RealBlocks successfully closed a seed funding round. RealBlocks has designed a decentralized platform that tokenizes shares of private equity funds. It also allows real estate investors to sell shares at both domestic and international markets.