How cryptocurrencies will disrupt real estate industry

CRYPTOCURRENCY has been on a wild ride lately, with massive fluctuations in both directions. The fluctuations understandably make some real estate brokers nervous, but many of us believe that cryptocurrencies are the future of money, and savvy brokers are getting in on the ground floor. As one of the founders of Lemon Wallet, which laid the foundation for a Bitcoin wallet framework back in 2012, I’ve been fascinated with how Bitcoin and the block-chain could transform the fundamental industries that make up the modern economy.

Other real estate brokers are sensing the possibilities of cryptocurrency, particularly in the international real estate market. A global real estate marketplace called Propy operates a decentralized title registry and creates a space for buyers, sellers and brokers as well as escrow and title agents and notaries to come together to execute transactions using block-chain. I personally do not have any relations with Propy, but I am enamoured by their business and the potential transformation it can bring to real estate. In my opinion, real estate is the perfect sector for innovation through the block-chain. According to Investopedia, “Previously, transacting high value assets such as real estate exclusively through digital channels has never been the norm.

Real estate transactions are often conducted offline involving face-toface engagements with various entities. Block-chain, however, opened up ways to change this. The introduction of smart contracts in block-chain platforms now allows assets like real estate to be tokenised and be traded like cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether.”

Block-chain technology eliminates the need for a trusted (and expensive) party to facilitate digital transactions, allowing those involved in the transaction to use a distributed, peer-to-peer network — that is, the block-chain — instead.