NCFA Fintech Confidential December 2020 (Issue 3)

very comfortable in the hospitality industry. And
every single forecaster predicts that the industry
will bounce back – cautiously, but soon.
So we jumped into another area where
traditional institutions were still hesitating,
partnering with Best Western to tokenize
a gorgeous beachfront hotel in Phuket,
Thailand. It’s amazing. Thailand has been one
of the safest places throughout COVID-19, and
Phuket is one of its Top 3 tourist destinations.
With the growing Chinese middle class
spending billions there each year, investors
know Phuket is a safe bet. There are lots more
examples, but those two really speak to the idea
that mainstream financial institutions are slow
and bureaucratic. They don’t like to take risks,
even “safe risks,” so to speak. It’s easier for them
to say no, and that creates a huge opportunity
for us – and for our investors.
are potentially getting all this information for
every single property in your portfolio. And
this data is important because it gives you real
insight into what’s going on. But as an investor
you might not want to track all this data with
so much granularity. That’s why we’re going
to see the emergence of the same kinds
of automation, harnessing AI and machine
learning, that we’re seeing with other kinds of
securities. Users will be able to set up alerts
for certain conditions, create automation for
other conditions, like buy or sell orders. So you
don’t need to track it yourself on a day-to-day
basis – though you’ll always have that option.
The transparency of blockchain and the huge
amounts of information available will make it
easier to invest wisely. It will make it easier to
set up funds of tokens with similar parameters,
as well as customize your investment priorities
and level of risk.
FINTECH DRAFT
What makes tokenized real estate different
from other kinds of securities?
The biggest difference is the amount of
data that tokens offer us, in two key areas:
transaction history data and reference data.
Transaction history data means being able
to see the provenance of an asset all the way
back to the time of its creation. This is important
for regulatory reasons, but it’s also extremely
important in reducing the risks of fraud and
operational errors.
But reference data is even more exciting,
because with IoT, the internet of things, this
opens up a whole new world of information that
we can literally attach to the token associated
with a real estate asset. This could be things
like vacancy rate, maintenance schedules,
real estate prices and construction in the
surrounding area, property taxes, and more.
One reason people hesitate to invest
internationally is the proverbial “swampland in
Florida” – they’re afraid of a scam. But with all
this data, it’s going to build confidence that the
investment is legit.
Can investors handle that much data?
What a great question! You’re absolutely right,
it’s a lot of data, especially because investors
How is this different from a REIT?
REITs are a good start, and that’s why they’re
so popular. Everybody wants to invest in
real estate! About 80 million Americans are
already invested in REITs through retirement
savings and mutual funds. But REITs don’t go
far enough, because they’re still tied in with
the big institutions. Public REITs give limited
returns because they are so costly and private
REITs don’t offer liquidity. From over $260
trillion worth of real estate, only 1% is tradable,
mainly through stock exchanges. SolidBlock
is planning to double that number through
tokenization in the next five years.
How can we get more information?
I’m happy to talk to anyone who wants to find
out more – whether they’re a potential investor
or an asset owner looking to raise equity for a
great project. Reach me at yael@solidblock.co
or +1 (347) 757-4638.
Yael Tamar
Co-founder and CMO
SolidBlock
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